Frank Six

The Frank Six (フランクシックス) are a series of Japanese 6×6 folding cameras produced in the first half of the 1950s by Tōsei Kōki.

Common features

All the Frank Six models are horizontal folders, with folding struts inspired from the Ikonta. They can take 6×6cm or 4.5×6cm format pictures when using an internal mask.

The first models

The Frank Six Model I and Frank Six Model 1951 are nearly the same camera. The cameras observed all differ by minor details, and it is not easy to trace their evolution.

They are roughly similar to the early models of the Olympus Chrome Six, with a tubular optical finder centered on the top plate, an advance knob at the left and an accessory shoe between both. The advance knob is quite high, with a conical base. This knob has been seen with a round leather patch on top, or all metal with an arrow engraving to indicate the winding direction.

The back is opened by a rotating button below. There are two red windows, one for each format, protected by a cover sliding under a black plate. These black plates are engraved 4.5 X 6 and 6 X 6 to indicate the picture format. Two red lines in the viewfinder delineate the 4.5×6 picture frame.

The top plate is engraved Frank six in bold handwritten style, and MODEL-I- or MODEL 1951 in square style. At both ends of the body, there is a metal plate marked Frank in handwritten style or FRANK in uppercase square style. There is a small plate protruding behind the lens and shutter assembly, observed in black with Tōsei Kōki's TK logo filled in white, and in chrome with the same logo engraved in black. The logo is also engraved on the folding struts and sometimes embossed in the folding bed's leather.

Some Model I cameras have been observed with Tōsei.O.W 1953 embossed in the back leather. Tōsei.O.W is underlined, and most probably stands for Tōsei Optical Works (a translation of Tōsei Kōki Seisakusho?). One such camera has been observed at an eBay auction with the TK logo on the folding bed, while McKeown pictures another with the year 1953 vertically stamped in the leather at the same place, replacing the logo.

The lens is usually a Seriter Anastigmat 75/3.5 with front cell focusing on the Model I and a C Seriter Anastigmat 75/3.5 on the Model 1951. Its minimal aperture setting was 22, and its maker is unknown. McKeown's camera stamped 1953 has a Seriter Anastigmat 80/3.5, unlike the other 1953 example observed. A Model 1951 has been observed in a Yahoo Japan auction with a Nomular Anastigmat 75/3.2 lens.

The shutter has B-1-200 speeds and is marked TKS on the rim, maybe for Tōsei Kōki Seisakusho. The shutter plate sometimes shows an arrow pattern all around the lens, with no other marking (on the 1953 models?) while on other cameras there is simply a thick black circle and a FRANK marking at the bottom.

A camera has been offered at a Yahoo Japan auction as a "Frank Six Model II", but no photograph was provided to confirm this.

Frank Six Model 1951, C Seriter Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens Pictures courtesy of Robert Smith. (Image rights)

The Frank Six IV

The Frank Six IV has a top housing containing an eye level finder offset to the right and a waist level optical finder offset to the left. The accessory shoe is now at the right end of the top plate, and the shape of the advance knob is different. The rest of the camera is very similar to the Model I. The top housing is engraved Frank.six in handwritten style and MODEL-IV- in red underneath. The shutter is the same TKS with B-1-200 speeds. The lens is now a Tosei Anastigmat 80/3.5, with a red C (certainly for Coated). On the cameras observed, the plate behind the lens is black.

McKeown mentions a Liner Six, a name variant of the Frank Six IV.

Bibliography

• Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7. Items 779–82. (See also the advertisement for item 783.)
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp. 67–8, 75, 79 and 83 (brief mentions only).
• McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). P. 928.
• Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Items 1303–7.

Links

In English:

• Frank Six page at the Medium Format Megasite

In Spanish:

• A post with the Frank Six IV, at Jorge Larranaga's blog

In Japanese:

• Frank Six Model 1951 and Frank Six IV at Japan Family Camera