It (Murakami)
The It (イット) is a box camera using the no-need-darkroom process, advertised by Murakami Shōkai in 1929.
Description
The It is a simple box camera, with no viewfinder. The name It is inscribed in a diamond-shaped nameplate attached to the front side, above the lens. A button is visible at the top, certainly corresponding to the shutter release. A metal latch is visible to the rear, certainly used to attach the light-sensitive material.
Original documents
The It is known from a series of advertisements published in Asahi Camera in 1929. It is said that the earliest one is in the April issue.[1] The April and May full-page advertisements are almost the same and show a drawing of the camera.[2] The advertisements dated July, August and September are text-only; the section devoted to the It camera is smaller and is identical in the three of them.
In these documents, the It is mentioned as "not needing a darkroom" (暗室の必要絶対なし or 暗室の必要のない), and it is said that you can watch the image appearing during the development process.[3] The nature of the sensitive material (film sheets or glass plates) is unknown. This is the earliest known occurrence of a no-need-darkroom camera in Japan,[4] appearing before the 1930 Tougo cameras. The April and May advertisements mention a patent (専売特許); this patent was perhaps bought by Tougodo for its own cameras.[5]
All the advertisements give the price of ¥4.30 for a set, detailed as follows in April and May: camera and user manual, six film pieces, one bottle of developer fluid, one bottle of fixer, twelve sheets of photographic paper and a frame for contact prints.
No surviving example of the It has been observed so far.
 
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| Advertisements by Murakami Shōkai in Asahi Camera May and August 1929. (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Awano, p.7 of Camera Collectors' News no.317, quoting the book Nihon Shashinshi Nenpyō (日本写真史年表).
- ↑ April advertisement reproduced in Awano, p.9 of Camera Collectors' News no.317. May advertisement reproduced in this article.
- ↑ 現象は画像の現れるのを見ながら出来ます.
- ↑ Awano, p.10 of Camera Collectors' News no.316.
- ↑ This hypothesis is mentioned in Awano, p.10 of Camera Collectors' News no.316.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera. Advertisements by Murakami Shōkai in May 1929 (p.A37), July 1929 (p.A34), August 1929 (p.A32) and September 1929 (p.A32).
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Tougō kamera (3)" (トウゴーカメラ[3], Tougo cameras [3]). In Camera Collectors' News no.316 (October 2003). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.9–21.
- Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Tougō kamera (4)" (トウゴーカメラ[4], Tougo cameras [4]). In Camera Collectors' News no.317 (November 2003). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.7–12.
