Molby

The Molby (モルビー) is a Japanese rangefinder camera taking 3×4cm exposures on 127 film, made by Kuribayashi and distributed by Minagawa Shōten at the beginning of the 1940s.

Molby from price list of First Camera Works image by Petri@wiki (Image rights)

Description of the body

The Molby has a rounded metal body, certainly the same as on the Roico 4×4 camera made by Riken. There is an advance knob, an auto-stop advance mechanism, an exposure counter and a reset button at the top right. All these parts are externally similar to the parts mounted on the Roico. The film chamber and exposure counter were probably adapted to the 3×4 format.

It is said that the body of the Roico itself is based on the body of the Gokoku and Ricohl made by Riken too (see the page about the Roico). It is possible that the body parts of the Molby were made by Riken and sold to Kuribayashi.

The Molby has a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly and mounted on a focusing helix. These parts differ from the corresponding parts on the Roico.

Original documents

The list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, mentions the "Molby I" (¥95), "Molby II" (¥125), "Molby III" (¥60) and "Molby IV" (¥190). The Molby IV appears in the same price category as the Gokoku and Ricohl and the Canon ordinary model, two cameras which have a focal-plane shutter but no rangefinder.

The Molby reportedly appears in the December 1941 issue of Asahi Camera as an example of a Japanese camera with a good finish. The article mentions a Rotte 60/3.5 lens and a Rotte shutter (T, B, 1–200).

The camera appears again in the April 1943 government inquiry, with a Rotte 60/3.5 three-element lens made by Tokiwa Kōgaku and a shutter made by Nippon Kōsokki and giving T, B, 1–200 speeds. The shutter name is given as "NSK", certainly a typo for NKS.

Surviving example

The only surviving example known so far is pictured in Sugiyama. It has an uncoupled rangefinder, and it likely corresponds to one of the more expensive versions of the camera.

The middle left part of the top plate (as seen by the photographer) is occupied by a housing containing the viewfinder and uncoupled rangefinder. The distance wheel is above this housing on the right, and the name MOLBY is engraved above the viewfinder, perhaps together with a serial number. Three windows are visible at the front, a rectangular one in the middle for the viewfinder and two round ones for the rangefinder. There is no accessory shoe and the left end of the top plate has a small step at the rear.

The lens is a Rotte Anastigmat 60mm f/3.5 lens and the shutter is an NKS giving T, B, 1–200 speeds. The shutter plate is marked MOLBY at the bottom and the shutter rim is engraved NKS.

Coupled rangefinder conversions

The Cyclon rangefinder conversion offered in 1943 and 1944 for the Gelto was also available for the Molby. The conversion is described in detail in this section of the Gelto page. It is not known if the earlier conversion with separate range- and viewfinder, called Suzuki coupled device, was offered for this camera. No surviving example has been observed with a coupled rangefinder conversion.

It is unlikely that the uncoupled rangefinder of the surviving example described above was added as an aftermarket conversion, because the camera name MOLBY appears on top of the rangefinder housing, unlike the rangefinder converted Gelto or Arsen found so far, which have the brand name of the conversion instead.

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 285. (The book presents no reproduction of an advertisement and only shows a small version of the picture published in Sugiyama.)
• "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 163.
• "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 1, sections 9 and 10; type 2, section 5B; type 5, section 1.
• 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 3035.

Links

• Molby at collection-appareils.fr (in French)