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 inside mask.
The first models
The Frank Six Model I and Frank Six Model 1951 were nearly the same camera. The cameras observed all differ by minor details, and it is uneasy to trace their evolution.
They were 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 was 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 was opened by a rotating button underside. There were two red windows, one for each format, protected by a cover sliding under a black plate. These black plates were engraved 4.5 X 6 and 6 X 6 to indicate the picture format. Two red lines in the viewfinder delineated the 4.5×6 picture frame.
The top plate was engraved Frank six in bold handwritten style, and MODEL-I- or MODEL 1951 in square style. At both ends of the body, there was a metal plate marked Frank in handwritten style or FRANK in uppercase square style. There was a small plate protruding behind the lens and shutter assembly, it has been observed in black with Tōsei Kōki's TK logo filled in white, and in chrome with the same logo engraved in black. The logo was 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 was 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 had B-1-200 speeds and was marked TKS on the rim, maybe for Tōsei Kōki Seisakusho. The shutter plate sometimes showed an arrow pattern all around the lens, with no other marking (on the 1953 models?) while on other cameras there was 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 there was no picture to confirm this.
 
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| 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 had 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 was now at the right end of the top plate, and the shape of the advance knob was different. The rest of the camera is very similar to the Model I. The top housing was engraved Frank.six in handwritten style and MODEL-IV- in red underneath. The shutter was the same TKS with B-1-200 speeds. The lens was now a Tosei Anastigmat 80/3.5, with a red C (certainly for Coated). On the cameras observed, the plate behind the lens was black.
McKeown mentions a "Liner Six", name variant of the Frank Six IV.
Notes
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.
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