Gotex and Poppy Six

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The Gotex (ゴーテックス) is a Japanese 6×6 folder made by Kigawa from 1941 to the end of the war, and later by Shin Nippon Kōgyō. The Poppy Six is an evolution of the Gotex. The line was later continued by the Minon Six.

General description

The Gotex is a horizontal folder, with three-part folding struts similar to those of the Ikonta. The top housing contains both an eye-level finder in the middle and a brilliant finder offset to the right, as seen by the photographer. The body release is to the right of the brilliant finder, and the accessory shoe and folding bed release are to the left of the eye-level finder. There are strap lugs at both extremities of the top plate, and the film is advanced by a key at the left end. The back is hinged to the right and the back latch consists of a long sliding bar. There is a single red window in the middle of the back, protected by a horizontally sliding cover.

The wartime Gotex have a large KSK logo engraved above the eye-level finder, presumably for Kigawa Seimitsu Kōgaku. The words TOKYO JAPAN and KIGAWA KŌGAKU are inscribed underneath. The large KSK logo is repeated in the leather of the folding bed and at the front of the leather case. The folding struts and red window cover also have a logo, certainly reading KIKO TSUBASA. The name GŌTEX is embossed in the original leather covering at the front of the camera. The red window is surrounded by the name KIKO SIX embossed in the back leather on at least some cameras.[1]

Wartime documents

The Gotex is mentioned in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, for ¥160.[2] The same document also has the "Tsubasa Six I" (¥79), "Tsubasa Six" (¥89), "Tsubasa Six II" (¥94) and "Tsubasa Six IV" (¥110).[3] These were obviously made by Kigawa, but it is not known if they were related to the Gotex. A similar price list dated November 1941 again has the Gotex, attributed to its distributor Nichiei Shōkai.[4]

The Gotex was advertised in Japanese magazines from December 1941 to late 1944.[5] The January 1942 advertisement in Shashin Bunka says that the lens is an Erinar Anastigmat 75/3.5 and the shutter a Kiko Compur (キコー・コンパー) giving T, B, 1–300 speeds.[6] The price is given as ¥187. The picture shows a plain circular lens standard and unit focusing. The October 1942 advertisement in the same magazine shows a square chrome-plated lens standard, perhaps adopted to protect the focusing lever.[7] The price and features are the same.

The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production lists the Gotex with an Erinar 75/3.5 three-element lens and a Kiko Rapid shutter (1–500), both made by Kigawa.[8]

An advertisement dated February 1944 shows the Gotex with unit focusing, together with the Kiko Semi.[9] The main picture again shows a camera with a circular lens standard and unit focusing. The lens is the Erinar Anastigmat f/3.5, and another picture shows lens no.60693, probably on a Gotex. It is unclear whether the shutter is the Kiko Compur (1–300) or the Kiko Rapid (1–500), and it seems that the price is ¥214.42.[10]

Actual examples

The early cameras have the lens marking KIKō Anastigmat Erinar 1:3.5 f=7.5cm N°xxxxx and a lens number in the 62xxx or 63xxx range. Further cameras, with a higher lens number in the 7xxxx range, have KIKO instead of KIKō.

At least one very early example has front-cell focusing and a plain round lens standard. This particular camera has number 2601 engraved at the top, under the company name[11] — this is surely not a serial number, but corresponds to year 2601 in the Japanese mythological calendar sometimes used in military ruled Japan, i.e. 1941.

All the other wartime Gotex observed so far have helical unit focusing, moving the lens and shutter assembly together. They normally have a Rapid-Kiko shutter, giving T, B, 1–500 speeds and engraved RAPID–KIKO at the bottom of the speed setting rim. Most have a square lens standard with chrome plating, but at least one camera combines unit focusing with a round lens standard.[12] At least some unit-focusing cameras have a four-digit body number inscribed at the top, as N°xxxx instead of 2601.

The Green

The Green is a version of the wartime Gotex, with front-cell focusing instead of unit focusing. It is mainly known from an example pictured in this page at Tomei Collection.[13] The main body and top housing is exactly similar to those of the Gotex. The name GReen is engraved above the viewfinder, together with the words GREEN CAMERA WORKS, a dummy name which was perhaps used by some distributor (see Camera Works). The red window cover has a KKS logo, exactly similar to that found on the Mulix distributed by Kuwata, which used the "KKS" initials for various products. This probably indicates that the Green was made by Kigawa for Kuwata.

The shutter is a Pisco (250–1, B, T), marked PISCO at the bottom of the black front plate and mounted on a plain round front standard. It is superficially similar to the "K.Prontor.S" shutter (200–1, B, T) found on some examples of the Mulix. The lens is a Green Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5, and the focusing ring is strongly reminiscent of that of the Mulixar lens mounted on the Mulix, another hint that the camera was distributed by Kuwata, which was perhaps supplying some components.

The Kigawa company became Shin Nippon Kōgyō, certainly when it was refounded after 1945. An advertisement dated April 1948 presents the Gotex as made by Shin Nippon Kōgyō.[14] The features are the same as in the wartime advertisements: Erinar Anastigmat lens and Kiko Compur (キコーコンパー) shutter.[15]

On the postwar model, the markings on the top housing were replaced by a large SNK logo and the words TOKYO JAPAN and SHIN NIPPON written underneath. The lens marking became Erinar Anastigmat 1:3.5 f=75mm, eliminating the word "Kiko", and the GOTEX embossing disappeared from the front leather around the same time. It however seems that the logo on the folding struts and red window cover remained KIKO TSUBASA for some time. Nothing on the camera itself identifies it as a Gotex, but the commercial name was unchanged, as is demonstrated by the April 1948 advertisement. Today, some sources refer to the camera as the "SNK".[16]

Various examples of the postwar Gotex are known with a six-digit lens number in the 101xxx or 102xxx range and an unmarked shutter, giving either T, B, 5–200 or T, B, 1–300 speeds.[17] All these cameras reportedly have KIKO TSUBASA logos.

Unit focusing was gradually abandoned, and most of the Gotex made by Shin Nippon Kōgyō have a front-cell focusing lens and a round lens standard, though a few examples retain the helical focusing lever and square lens standard, either black painted or chrome plated.[18]

One later example, pictured below, is known with SNK TOKYO logos on the folding struts and red window cover. It has an NKS shutter (B, 1–200) with no flash synchronization, engraved NKS at the bottom of the speed rim, and an Erinar Anastigmat lens with four-digit no.1066. The aperture is set by a dented part, the same as on the Poppy Six but without the control wheel. This example is presumably a very late Gotex, made just before the switch to the Poppy Six.

A further camera has a higher four-digit lens number (no.1203), an unidentified shutter (T, B, 1–300), and the older diaphragm index shaped as a claw.[19]

The Poppy Six

Original Poppy Six

The camera pictured in McKeown as a Poppy Six is indistinguishable from the postwar Gotex with front-cell focusing, and is perhaps misidentified.[20] It has an Erinar Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens with six-digit number 103421. It is attributed to "Shin Nippon", presumably because of the markings on the top housing.

Poppy Six II

The Poppy Six II has a new heavier top housing, with an advance knob instead of a key. The window of the brilliant finder is round instead of square. The film flange at the top right has a serial number engraved at the top. The lens standard is chrome-plated and has a square top with rounded corners. It normally has a small wheel attached to the top left corner (as seen from the front), engaging the dented aperture ring.

The name POPPY is engraved in block letters above the eye-level finder, the SNK TOKYO logo is engraved on the folding struts, and perhaps also on the red window cover. The name POPPY SIX is embossed in the back leather, around the red window. The name POPPY is repeated on the leather of the folding bed. It is also embossed at the front and rear of the leather case.

Presumably early cameras have an accessory shoe made of sheet metal, the same as on the Gotex, and have a POPPY II logo attached to the front leather, with a red or green background, reminiscent of the logo found on the Poppy subminiature.[21]

Some examples have an Erinar Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens with a four-digit number. That pictured above has an NKS shutter (B, 1–200). A similar camera is pictured in Sugiyama, with a self-timer and two synch pins added to the NKS shutter.[22] A further camera has been observed with a different shutter, certainly a Lustre, and without the aperture-setting wheel, which was not originally mounted.[23]

The camera pictured below has a Daguerre 75mm f/3.5 lens (no.16268), the same as on the Kigawa Rectaflex TLR and on the Rosen folder. It has a synchronized NKS with a self-timer, and it is missing the aperture wheel, which seems to have fallen off.

A later example of the Poppy Six II is known with a heavier diecast accessory shoe and an Eria Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens, with four-digit number 2696 and the name Eria engraved in red.[24] It lacks the front logo, either because it has fallen off or because it was no longer used. The shutter is the same synchronized NKS, with two pins at the bottom and a self-timer.

The Gotex and Poppy Six line was continued as the Minon Six. The original Minon Six, or Minon Six I, is indistinguishable from the late Poppy Six II with Eria Anastigmat lens, but for the engraving on the top housing.

Other name variants

McKeown has various entries which might correspond to name variants of the Gotex. The "Kiko 6", attributed to no particular company, is described as having helical focusing and a Rapid Kiko shutter (1–500), but its format is not mentioned.[25] The "Tsubasa 6×6", attributed to Kigawa has a Kiko Erinar 75mm f/3.5 lens and dual finders under a polished-chrome top housing.[26] These models might be misidentified Gotex with the KIKO TSUBASA logos and KIKO SIX embossings, or might be related to the Tsubasa Six listed in the January 1941 price list.

The "Grace Six" is a 6×6 folder attributed to Daitoh, surely by mistake.[27] The description mentions dual eye level and waist level finders, a chrome top plate and a unit focusing Erinar Anastigmat 75/3.5. No picture is provided but the camera is surely a name variant or an evolution of the Gotex. The name "Grace" was also used by Kigawa on the Graceflex.

Notes

  1. Example observed in an online auction.
  2. "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9., type 3, section 7B.
  3. "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 4, sections 3, 4, 5A, 6A.
  4. "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō", November 1941, type 3, section 7B.
  5. Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.336.
  6. Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.68.
  7. Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.71.
  8. "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 95, lens item Lb16, shutter item 18-R-3.
  9. Advertisement on the third cover of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin, February 15, 1944, reproduced on p.77 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku.
  10. The columns listing the features of the Kiko Semi and Gotex are probably mismatched, as is indicated by the given format, and the Kiko Rapid (1–500) shutter perhaps applies to the Kiko Semi. The prices are probably at the right place, and the Gotex is presumably more expensive than the Kiko Semi.
  11. Example observed in an online auction.
  12. Examples observed in online auctions, and offered for sale by an online dealer.
  13. The camera is also mentioned in McKeown, p.371, in a text-only entry.
  14. Advertisement on the third cover of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin, April 20, 1948, reproduced on p.85 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku.
  15. The shutter speeds are given as 1–130, obviously a misprint for 1–300.
  16. McKeown, p.897, lists the camera as a "folding rollfilm camera" by "SNK Camera Works".
  17. Example pictured in this page (lens no.101611), and examples observed in online auctions.
  18. Examples observed in online auctions.
  19. Example observed in an online auction.
  20. McKeown, p.890.
  21. Examples pictured in this page, in Sugiyama, item 1404, and observed in online auctions.
  22. Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1404.
  23. Example observed in an online auction.
  24. Example observed in an online auction.
  25. McKeown, p.465.
  26. McKeown, p.464.
  27. McKeown, p.240. Daitoh made inexpensive cameras including one called Grace, a name variant of the Ponix. This is probably the source of the confusion.

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. Item 75. (See also the advertisement for item 101.)
  • "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 3, section 7B.
  • "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced 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: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7. Item 95.
  • "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9. Type 3, section 7B; type 4, sections 3, 4, 5A, 6A.
  • 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.240, 371, 464–5, 890 and 897.
  • Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin (日本写真興業通信). Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku (百号ごと十回の記録, Ten records, every hundred issues). Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin Sha (日本写真興業通信社), 1967. No ISBN number. Advertisement on p.77, corresponding to the third cover of the February 15, 1944 issue, and on p.85, corresponding to the third cover of the April 20, 1948 issue.
  • 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 1404.

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