Pearl (for plates and rollfilm)

This is a work in progress.

The name Pearl (パール) was given by Konishi Honten and Konishiroku Honten (the later Konica) to many models of rollfilm folders. This article deals with the early models taking both film plates and rollfilm.

See also the Pearl No.2, the self-erecting 6×9 Pearl, the 4.5×6 Pearl; and, for 127 film, the Baby Pearl and Pearlette.

Common features

All the models are vertical folders, and none is self-erecting: the front standard has to be pulled out manually after the folding bed is opened. They have a mixed construction, with a wooden main body and a folding bed made of metal. All the cameras have focusing rails, a distance scale on the photographer's left and a leather handle at the top. The back is detachable as a whole for film loading; its center part contains a single uncovered red window, and can be replaced by a ground glass holder or plate holders. The film spools are loaded in removable metal inserts, complete with film rollers. The name The Pearl is inscribed on a round nameplate attached to the photographer's left, except perhaps on the earliest cameras (see below).

The tefuda models

The Pearl Hand Camera No.3 and No.4

Pictures courtesy of eBayer stan7623. (Image rights)

The original model was released by Konishi Honten in January 1909 as the Pearl Hand Camera (パール手提暗函). It was a copy of the No.3 Folding Pocket Kodak, but for tefuda (3¼×4¼ in.) format plates as well as 118 film.

The front standard is similar to that of the original Lily Hand Camera. It mainly consists of two cylindrical masts, and allows horizontal and vertical movements. A hooded brilliant finder is perched atop the left-hand mast, and a bubble level is attached to it; the camera has no other viewfinder.

The camera exists in two models: the No.3 (3号) has single extension bellows and the No.4 (4号) has double extension bellows driven by a wheel on the photographer's right. The No.4 looks very much like an original Lily with a removable back and spool compartments added at both ends.

An advertisement probably dated 1909 shows an illustration of the Pearl Hand Camera No.3 with three plate holders, the ground glass holder and the rollfilm back. The pictured camera has the film advance key at the bottom right, as seen by the photographer, and has straight struts for the folding bed. The following versions are listed:

• No.3, Symmetrical lens, Simplex shutter, ¥40;
• No.4, Symmetrical lens, Auto shutter, ¥48;
• No.4, Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIIa No.1 lens (f/9), Auto shutter, ¥93;
• Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIb No.4 lens (135/6.3), ¥135.

The case was available for ¥3 extra.

The December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten shows the same illustration, and lists the following versions:

• No.3, Rapid Rectilinear lens, Simplex shutter, ¥28;
• No.4, Symmetrical lens, Auto shutter, ¥43;
• No.4, Extra Aplanat lens, Compound shutter, ¥60;
• Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIb No.4 lens (135/6.3), ¥115.

All the prices are given for the rollfilm camera alone. The set of three double-sided plate holders and one ground glass holder was sold separately, for ¥4.50, and a case was available for ¥3 extra. Other lens and shutter options were certainly available, at the customer's request.

At least one surviving example of the No.3 is known with the advance key at the bottom right and the older folding struts; it has a PEARL nameplate at the base of the front standard and it is perhaps missing the round nameplate on the side. Its lens is a Bausch & Lomb Rapid Rectilinear f/8 and its shutter only has T, B, I settings.

The Pearl No.3 and No.4

The model name was simplified to Pearl No.3 (パール3号) and No.4 (4号) at some time. The camera was modified at about the same time, as indicated by an illustration of an original advertisement. The film running direction was switched, and the advance key was accordingly moved to the top left. The folding struts were also replaced by thinner arched struts. A third, wider type of folding struts is known on some surviving examples. (These second and third types are similar to the struts observed on the original Lily.)

Most surviving examples belong to that period; they have been observed in the following versions:

• No.3, simple f/8 lens, Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10), thin struts;
• No.3, simple f/8 lens, Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;
• No.3, Wollensak Voltas f/8 lens, Gammax shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;
• No.4, Goerz Dagor 125/6.8 lens, Kodak pneumatic shutter (T, B, 1–100), thin struts;
• No.4, Wollensak Voltas f/8 lens, Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;

The Special Pearl

The Special Pearl (スペシャルパール) added a folding viewfinder, and had a Deltas f/6.8 or Velostigmat Series IV f/6.3 lens in tefuda format or a Velostigmat Series IV f/6.3 or f/7.5 lens for 4×5 in. format.

Sources and further reading

• The Japanese Historical Camera. 日本の歴史的カメラ (Nihon no rekishiteki kamera). 2nd ed. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2004. P.6.
• Kikuoka Sei (菊岡清). "Konica history 3. Meiji 41-nen – Taishō 12-nen." (Konica history 3. 明治41年–大正12年. From Meiji year 41 (1908) to Taishō year 12 (1923).) Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp.24–32.
• Konika-Minoruta-ten (コニカミノルタ展, Konica Minolta exhibition). Exhibition catalogue. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005.
• Konishi Honten. Saishin Shashin Kikai Mokuroku (最新写真器械目録, Latest catalogue of photographic apparatus). Published on December 18, 1911. Recent reprint.
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), 0-935398-16-3 (hard). Pp.21 and 33.
• 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). P.543.
• 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. Items 1106–10.
• Tamura Hiroshi (田村寛). "Nichiro-sensō ato no shashin seihin to fukyū" (日露戦争後の写真製品と普及, Diffusion of photography and photographic products after the Russo-Japanese War). 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.40–3.
• Tanaka Yoshirō (田中芳郎). "Meiji–Taishō jidai no Konishi Honten no kamera wo shiru tame no hon" (明治・大正時代の小西本店のカメラを知るための本, Books about the Konishi Honten cameras of the Meiji and Taishō eras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp.92–4.

Links

In Japanese:

• Pages of the R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha website:
  • Pearl cameras
  • Pearl Portable advertisements (1909)
  • Special Pearl advertisement
  • "Pearl Kodak" advertisement
  • Pearl Portable in the camera list
• Pearl Portable in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology
• Special Pearl and more pictures in Miyazawa Noriyuki's camera site
• Pages of Neco's camera collection:
  • Pearl Portable No.3 (tefuda, Victo shutter, thin struts), with more pictures here, here and here
  • Pearl Portable No.3 (tefuda, Victo shutter, wide struts), with more pictures here, here and here
  • Pearl No.3 (meishi, Victo shutter, RR lens)
  • Pearl No.3 (meishi, Deltax shutter, RR lens)