Glico pistol camera
The Glico pistol camera is a Japanese subminiature shaped as a toy pistol, taking 10×14mm pictures on 16mm film in Minolta cassettes. It is only known from a single example, pictured in Sugiyama.[1]
Contents
Description
The camera is rather a toy than a credible reproduction of a pistol. An eye-level viewfinder is integrated at the top. The film is advanced by a small knob on the photographer's right, and the advance is apparently manually controlled by watching the numbers engraved on the knob. The shutter is tripped by a trigger on the handgrip. There is a small selector on the right, below the viewfinder, switching between Bulb and Instant exposures. The lens is deeply recessed in a rectangular fairing at the front, imitating a pistol's nozzle. It has a fixed focus and aperture, and has no marking.
Origin
It is said that the Glico pistol camera was offered by the company Ezaki Glico, certainly together with some of its confectionery products.[1] The date is given as 1946 in Sugiyama,[1] but this is a sure mistake: the 16mm film Minolta cassettes were not yet produced at the time, and the camera looks much later, perhaps from the 1960s.
Notes
Bibliography
- 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. Item 5115.
The Glico pistol camera is not listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi.
Links
In English:
- Brief mention of the Glico lighter camera among 16mm film cameras at Subclub.org
In Japanese:
- Glico pistol camera pictured among other toy cameras at the AJCC website
