Kyokutō
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| Kyokko logo and Simpu trademark. From Asahi Camera September 1937. (Image rights) |
Kyokutō Kōki Seisakusho (極東光機製作所) was a Japanese camera and lens maker in the late 1930s. The company entered the camera market in 1937 with the Semi-Tex, a 4.5×6cm folding camera copied on the Ikonta.[1] It used the short name Kyokkō (極光)[2] and a logo depicting a cemented doublet with two wings, reading KYOKKO MFG.CO.[3] It made the Simpu lenses for the Semi-Tex, and perhaps for the Pilot Ref. The company also announced a 6×6cm TLR called Simpuflex in August 1937, which was never released.
In 1941, the Semi-Tex was attributed to Nomura Seisakusho,[4] perhaps the new name of Kyokutō.
Some recent sources attribute the Vester-Lette 4.5×6 folder to Kyokutō,[5] but that camera was actually made by Ginrei.
Notes
- ↑ Column in Asahi Camera September 1937, p.524.
- ↑ The name "Kyokkō Shōkai" (旭光商会) found in this page of the AJCC is certainly mistaken.
- ↑ Advertisements in Asahi Camera August 1937, p.A75, and September 1937, p.A74. That dated September is reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.80.
- ↑ "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō", November 1941, type 3, sections 3A, 4A, 6A.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.340–1; Sugiyama, item 4068; McKeown, p.592.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera. Advertisements by Kyokutō Kōki Seisakusho:
- August 1937, p.A75;
- September 1937, p.A74.
- Asahi Camera September 1937. "Atarashii kikai to zairyō" (新しい機械と材料, New equipment and machinery). P.524.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
