Mars
See also the Mars Camera and Mars 99 by Emil Wünsche.
Mars was a Japanese company making shutters and accessories in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was based in Ebara, Tokyo (currently in Shinagawa).[1] Its full name was either "Mars Kōgaku Kōgyō-sha" (マース光学工業社) or "Mars Shashin Kōgyō-sha" (マース写真工業社).[2]
The company made various shutters, including the Lex (T, B, 1–200 or T, B, 5–200) and Patent Mars (T, B, 1–250). It reportedly made an accessory called "Patent Goal Finder" (パテントゴールファインダー), combination of an eye-level and a waist-level finder.[3]
Shutter list
- Patent Mars (T, B, 1–250),[4] on the following cameras:
- Lex: see corresponding page
- Balnet (B, 1–200 and B, 1–250), on some Baby Balnet
A synchronized version of the Balnet shutter was produced after 1945, perhaps by another company.
Notes
- ↑ Its address is given as Tōkyō-shi Ebara Koyama 289 (東京市荏原小山289) on p.34 of Camera Collectors' News no.31, from unspecified documents. As of April 1943, it was Tōkyō-to Ebara-ku Ebara 5–28 (東京都荏原区荏原5–28), certainly after a change in the postal system. Source: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ The name "Mars Kōgaku Kōgyō-sha" is given on p.34 of Camera Collectors' News no.31, from unspecified documents. It might correspond to the "Mars Kogaku Tokyo" marking found on the Baby Balnet. The name "Mars Shashin Kōgyō-sha" appears in the "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ "Patent Goal Finder": p.34 of Camera Collectors' News no.31, from unspecified documents.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), shutter item 18-U-12.
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.
- "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.
- Letter to C.C.N. In Camera Collectors' News no.31 (January 1980). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.33–4.
- 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.
