Pearl (for plates and rollfilm)
The name Pearl (パール) was given by Konishi Honten and Konishiroku Honten (the later Konica) to many models of rollfilm folders.[1] 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.
Contents
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 Pearl Hand Camera No.3 and No.4
The original model was released by Konishi Honten in January 1909[2] as the Pearl Hand Camera (パール手提暗函).[3] It was a copy of the No.3 Folding Pocket Kodak, but for tefuda (3¼×4¼ in.) format plates as well as 118 film.[4]
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.[5] 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:[6]
- 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),[7] Auto shutter, ¥93;
- No.4, Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIb No.4 lens (135/6.3),[7] ¥135.
The case was available for ¥3 extra.
The December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten shows the same illustration, and lists the following versions:[8]
- No.3, Rapid Rectilinear lens, Simplex shutter, ¥28;
- No.4, Symmetrical lens, Auto shutter, ¥43;
- No.4, Extra Aplanat lens, Compound shutter, ¥60;
- No.4, Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIb No.4 lens (135/6.3),[7] ¥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.[9] Its lens is a Bausch & Lomb Rapid Rectilinear f/8 and its shutter only has T, B, I settings.
The Minimum Pearl
The Minimum Pearl (ミニマムパール) was announced in March 1911.[10] One source says that it was a "smaller, improved version of the 1909 Pearl [Hand Camera]", introduced together with the Minimum Idea.[11] A single picture is known, reproduced from an original advertisement; it shows some differences from the Pearl No.4 but it is not good enough to elaborate further.[12] It seems that no surviving example is known, even if Kikuoka mentions a camera owned in the 1980s by the Konica company which has some similarity with the original picture.[13]
The Pearl No.3 and No.4 in tefuda size
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.[14] 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.)
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| Pearl No.3, tefuda-size, Wollensak Voltas f/8 lens, Gammax shutter. Pictures courtesy of eBayer stan7623. (Image rights) | |||
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;[15]
- No.3, simple f/8 lens, Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;[16]
- No.3, Wollensak Voltas f/8 lens, Gammax shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;[17]
- No.4, Goerz Dagor 125/6.8 lens, Kodak pneumatic shutter (T, B, 1–100), thin struts;[18]
- No.4, Wollensak Voltas f/8 lens, Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10), wide struts;[19]
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| Advertisement in Ars Camera April 1922. (Image rights) |
The Pearl still appears in the advertisement in Ars Camera April 1922, also showing the "Lily" and "Idea A", with almost no detail. The illustration shows a tefuda-size Pearl No.3; it is laterally reversed, obviously a mistake in the advertisement.
The Pearl No.3 and No.4 in hagaki size
The Pearl No.3 was released in November 1914 in a larger hagaki-size (i.e. postcard-size) version, and the Pearl No.4 followed in November 1915.[20] They take 8×14cm pictures on 122 film or 8×10.5cm pictures on glass plates.[21] These models appeared after the hagaki-size Special Pearl (see below). An illustration of a hagaki-size Pearl No.4, certainly taken from an original advertisement, shows a lengthened folding bed with an arched top, an advance key at the bottom right, and a front standard similar to that of the tefuda models, with a PEARL nameplate added to the bottom.[22]
At least one surviving Pearl No.3 is known in hagaki format.[23] Compared with the original illustration, it has a rectangular folding bed, a later type of struts, and has the same U-shaped front standard as the known hagaki-size Special Pearl, with the brilliant finder in the middle; its film advance key is again to the photographer's right. Its lens is an Idea Anastigmat f/7.5 lens and its shutter is a Victo (T, B, 10–100).
The Special Pearl, in tefuda and hagaki size
The Special Pearl (スペシャルパール) was reportedly released in May 1913.[24] It simultaneously appeared in tefuda-size (8×10.5cm) for 118 film and in hagaki-size (8×14cm) for 122 film; it seems that both versions take tefuda-size plates only.[25]
The Special Pearl adds a folding Newton finder on the side. All the cameras known so far have a newer front standard and a revised double extension mechanism, with a larger focusing wheel. (Similar features are found on the Lily No.2.) The front standard is built around a U-shaped metal part, with vertical and horizontal movement ability. The brilliant finder is perched on the photographer's left on the tefuda model whereas it is attached to the middle of the lensboard on the hagaki model. The advance key is at the top left on the smaller model, and on the right on the larger one.
An advertisement dated November 1918 says nothing of the lens and shutter options, and gives the following prices:[26]
| tefuda-size (8×10.5cm) | hagaki-size (8×14cm) | |
| camera | ¥86 | ¥95 |
| ground glass holder and three plate holders | ¥6 | ¥7 |
| camera case and accessory case | ¥7.80 | ¥8.50 |
A Konishiroku price list dated 1921 and an advertisement dated February 1922 give the following ranges:[27]
| tefuda-size (8×10.5cm) | hagaki-size (8×14cm) | |||
| 1921 | Feb. 1922 | 1921 | Feb. 1922 | |
| Wollensak Idea Anastigmat f/7.5 lens, Victo shutter | ¥108 | ¥121 | ||
| Wollensak Velostigmat Ser.IV f/6.3 lens, Auto shutter | ¥133 | _ | ¥149 | _ |
| Wollensak Vinco Anastigmat lens, Auto shutter | _ | ¥133 | _ | ¥140 |
| Wollensak Velostigmat Ser.IV f/6.3 lens, Optimo shutter | ¥153 | _ | ¥170 | _ |
| Wollensak Vinco Anastigmat lens, Optimo shutter | _ | ¥153 | _ | ¥170 |
| Voigtländer Dynar f/6 lens, Compur shutter | ¥194 | _ | ¥232 | _ |
| Voigtländer Collinear f/6.3 lens, Compur shutter | ¥221 | ¥253 | ||
| Carl Zeiss Tessar Ser.IIb lens, Optimo shutter | _ | ¥231 | _ | ¥276 |
| Goerz Dagor f/6.3 lens, Compur shutter | ¥233 | ¥272 | ||
| ground glass holder and three double-sided wooden plate holders | ¥9.50 | ¥11.50 | ||
| ground glass holder and six single-sided metal plate holders | ¥12 | _ | ||
| camera case | ¥6.50 | ¥6.80 | ||
| accessory case | ¥5.50 | ¥6 | ||
One source also mentions a Deltas f/6.8 lens for the tefuda-size model.[28]
At least two surviving examples of the Special Pearl are known in tefuda-size; one has an Auto shutter (T, B, 100–1) and the same hooded brilliant finder with bubble level as the regular Pearl No.3, the other has a Victo shutter (T, B, 100–10) and a smaller brilliant finder with no bubble level.[29] Another camera is known in hagaki-size, with an Ilex Anastigmat f/6.3 lens and an Acme shutter (T, B, 1–300).[30]
The Pearl No.3 in meishi size
The meishi-size Pearl No.3 (パール3号) was reportedly released in August 1916.[31] It takes 6×9cm exposures on 120 film, and was the first Japanese camera to use this rollfilm type; it also certainly takes 5.5×8cm glass plates. The main body is mostly a reduced version of the tefuda model. However the focusing rails allow single extension only, and the front standard, made of pressed metal and very similar to that of the meishi-size Idea A, has no movement ability. The advance knob is at the bottom right, as seen by the photographer, and the pivoting brilliant finder is offset to the left. Surviving examples are known with Victo, Deltax or Gammax shutters.[32]
Notes
- ↑ "Pearl" is written in roman script on most or all of these models. In Japanese, the line was and is called Pāru (i.e. the English word "Pearl" within Japanese phonology); the Japanese word for "pearl" is shinju (真珠), but this does not seem ever to have been applied to the camera. None of the cameras dealt with in this article was exported, and it is unlikely that any was either labeled or advertised with any roman script other than "Pearl" or "The Pearl". Thus the choice of names within this article is sometimes difficult.
- ↑ Release date: chronology from the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen, reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10 (this document mentions postcard size by mistake); this is repeated in Kikuoka, p.24 of the same magazine, and in this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology. The date is simply given as 1909 in the chronology at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha.
- ↑ The phrase tesage anbako (手提暗函) is rendered as "Hand Camera" in the Konishi catalogue dated December 1911. In modern sources, it is often translated as "Portable Camera" and the camera called "Pearl Portable". The Japanese word anbako literally means "dark box"; it was modeled after "camera obscura" and was used for cameras until around the 1910s.
- ↑ Copy of the No.3 Folding Pocket Kodak: Lewis, p.33.
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha (at the top).
- ↑ The same versions are listed in Tanaka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lens features: December 1911 catalogue of Konishi Honten, pp.40–1.
- ↑ December 1911 catalogue of Konishi Honten, p.15. The advertisement reproduced at the bottom of this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha is very similar to the catalogue entry, and gives the same price list.
- ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1107 (where it is called "The Pearl III").
- ↑ Chronology from the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen, reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10; and Kikuoka, p.24 of the same magazine.
- ↑ Lewis, p.21.
- ↑ Picture reproduced in Kikuoka, p.24 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Kikuoka, p.24 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Illustration reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha, showing the 1914 tefuda-size Pearl No.3.
- ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1106 (where it is called "The Pearl II" by mistake), and in this page at Neco's collection.
- ↑ Examples pictured in Tanaka, p.24 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, and in this page at Neco's collection.
- ↑ Example pictured in this page.
- ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1108 (where it is called "The Pearl IV").
- ↑ Example pictured in Tanaka, p.24 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10. The lens engraving is very similar to that of the camera pictured in this page; this is why it is most certainly a Voltas.
- ↑ Kikuoka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ The hagaki-size Pearl No.3 is said to take 8×10.5cm glass plates or 8×14cm pictures on rollfilm in Sugiyama, item 1110, where it is called "The Pearl (Meiji 44)". Film type is mentioned as 118 film by mistake, and this is repeated in McKeown, p.543, for the "Pearl (1911)".
- ↑ Illustration reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha.
- ↑ Example pictured in Kikuoka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, and in Sugiyama, item 1110 (this is certainly the same).
- ↑ Chronology from the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen, reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10; this is repeated in Kikuoka, p.24 of the same magazine. The date is simply given as 1913 in the chronology at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha.
- ↑ The hagaki-size Special Pearl is said to take 8×10.5cm glass plates or 8×14cm pictures on rollfilm in Sugiyama, item 1109 (film type is mentioned as 101 film by mistake).
- ↑ Advertisement reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha.
- ↑ Documents reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha.
- ↑ Lewis, p.33.
- ↑ Examples pictured in Kikuoka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Example pictured in Kikuoka, p.24 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, and in Sugiyama, item 1109 (this is certainly the same).
- ↑ Kikuoka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
- ↑ Victo: example pictured in this page of Neco's collection. Deltax: example pictured in this page of the same website. Gammax: example pictured in Kikuoka, p.25 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
Sources and further reading
- Ars Camera. Advertisement by Konishiroku Honten in April 1922. No page number.
- 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 Hand Camera 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 No.3 (tefuda, Victo shutter, thin struts), with more pictures here, here and here
- Pearl 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)
| Konishiroku prewar and wartime cameras () | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plate | hand cameras | stereo hand cameras | strut folders | box | telephoto | SLR |
| Idea (original) | Idea A | Idea B | Idea Snap | Idea No.1 | Idea (metal) | Lily (original) | Lily (horizontal) | Lily (metal) | Tropical Lily | Noble | Ohca | Sakura Palace | Sakura Pocket Prano | Sakura Prano | Idea Binocular | Sakura Binocular Prano | Minimum Idea | Idea Spring | Korok | Champion | Cherry | Sakura Army | Sakura Honor | Sakura Navy | Idea Telephoto | Idea Reflex (1910 and 1911) | Idea Reflex (1932) | Neat Reflex | Sakura Reflex Prano | |
| rollfilm | folders | box or collapsible | TLR | |||
| Pearlette | Special Pearlette | B Pearlette | Pearl (for plates and rollfilm) | Pearl No.2 | Pearl (Year 8) | Baby Pearl | Semi Pearl | Sakura Palace | Record | Sakura (box) | Sakura (bakelite) | Sakura-flex | ||||
