Fujimoto
Fujimoto is a Japanese company that made cameras at some time and currently (2007) makes enlargers and other equipment.
History
Fujimoto was founded in Osaka in 1913 by Fujimoto Tōjirō (藤本藤次郎) to make photogravure equipment.[1] In 1933, it established as Gōshi-gaisha Fujimoto Seisakusho (合資会社藤本製作所, meaning Fujimoto Mfg. Co.) and opened a plant in Minami-ku Nakahoribashi.[2] It certainly began to manufacture cameras at about that time. It released the Semi Prince (distributed by Fukada Shōkai) in late 1934 or early 1935[3]
In 1935, the production of enlargers began under the brand Lucky and it still continues today (2007).[4] It seems that the Semi Lucky camera introduced in 1937 was the first one that was sold by the company under its own brand. Fujimoto began to make its own leaf shutters in 1940, with the Rapidex equipping the Semi Sport.[5]
During the war, Fujimoto established a new plant together with Kashimura Yōkō and Tomioka Kōgaku in the Manchurian city of Dalian, under the name Kantō Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. (関東光学工業㈱).[6] All activity stopped in 1945.
In 1949 the Semi Sport and Lucky enlargers were advertised by a company called Nihon Kōki Kōgyō K.K. (日本光機工業㈱), whose relationship with Fujimoto is unknown.[7]
In 1950 the company was revived by Takahashi Kenzō (高橋健三) as Fujimoto Shashinki Seisakusho (藤本写真機製作所, meaning Fujimoto Camera Mfg. Co.).[8] It made a camera called Luck during a short time and also used the name Fujimoto Camera Works (藤本カメラワークス) for advertising before dropping camera production.[9] It was incorporated again in 1952 as K.K. Fujimoto Shashinki Seisakusho (㈱藤本写真機製作所) and moved to a plant in Osaka, Higashi-sumiyoshi-ku Kuwazu-chō (大阪市東住吉区桑津町).[10]
In 1966 the company became Fujimoto Shashin Kōgyō K.K. (藤本写真工業株式会社, officially translated as Fujimoto Photo Industrial Co., Ltd.).[11]
The company still exists (2007) and makes lab systems, enlargers and slide projectors.
4.5×6 folders
- Semi Lucky (1937–9)
- Semi Sport (1940–3, sold again in 1949 by Nihon Kōki Kōgyō)
- Luck (1951–2)
The Semi Prince (1935–9) is said to be made by Fujimoto for the distributor Fukada Shōkai. However, the company name that appears in original advertisements is Prince Camera Works.[12]
Others
Other cameras named Prince are often attributed to Fujimoto[13], but this is not certain. Here is a list:
- Prince, 6.5×9 plate folder
- Prince Peerless, 6.5×9 plate folder
- Pocket Prince, 4×6.5 folder
- Prince Flex, 6×6 TLR
Notes
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ 1934: Fujimoto official company history; Supuringu kamera de ikou, pp. 78–9. — The first advertisements for the Semi Prince mentioned in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 340, are dated 1935. Tanimura, pp. 1–2 of Camera Collectors News no. 116, says that the Semi Prince was featured in an article of the January 1935 issue of Asahi Camera.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 143.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history. McKeown lists "Fujimoto Camera Works" and "Fujimoto Mfg. Co." as two different companies, but this is a mistake.
- ↑ Fujimoto Camera Works: advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 205.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ Fujimoto official company history.
- ↑ See the sources in the Semi Prince page.
- ↑ For example in McKeown, pp. 331–2.
Bibliography
In Japanese:
- 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.
- Kawamata Masataku (川又正卓). Semi Prince — Luck. In Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: The use of and actual examples from 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp. 78–80.
In English:
- 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). Pp. 331–2, 572.
Links
In Japanese:
