Semi Rosen

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Japanese Semi (4.5×6)
Prewar and wartime models (edit)
folding
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The Semi Rosen (セミ・ローゼン) is a series of Japanese 4.5×6 folders. At least three different cameras share the name "Semi Rosen". They were distributed by Ōsawa Shōkai, which was probably the owner of the Rosen name. The maker of the two first models is unknown.[1] The first one is surely a name variant of the Semi Dymos. The third model (Semi Rosen U) was perhaps made by Kinshō, as indicated by a "K.S. Nippon" marking reported on the back of a camera.[2] (A proposed attribution to Proud, the maker of the Baby Rosen and Rosen Four, is perhaps a confusion induced by the Rosen name.)[3]

See also the postwar Rosen, a completely different 4.5×6 folder surely based on the Tsubasa Semi.

The original model

The original Semi Rosen, briefly advertised in early 1937,[4] is certainly a name variant of the Semi Dymos. It is an Ikonta copy, with the typical Ikonta struts. There is a folding optical finder in the middle of the top plate. Its front part folds above the back one and it is perhaps of the Newton type. There is no body release, the folding bed release is on the right of the viewfinder and the film advance key is at the bottom right — as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally. The back is hinged to the left and the back latch is covered by a leather handle. There is a special device for advance control (捲取特種装置), similar to the "talkie numbers" of the Semi Dymos, with a square plate on the camera's back and a red window at the extreme left, protected by a vertically sliding cover, probably to set the first exposure. The brand name ROSEN is embossed in the front leather in capital letters.

In an advertisement dated April 1937,[5] the original Semi Rosen was offered with a Rosen Anastigmat f/4.5 lens and a Rosen shutter giving T, B, 5–250 speeds, for ¥58 — case extra ¥5. The Rosen shutter was certainly a name variant of the Light B mounted on the Semi Dymos. An auxiliary rangefinder called Cosmos (コスモス) was offered too, apparently in two versions, graduated in meter or in feet, both for ¥15.

The Semi Rosen III

The Semi Rosen III was featured in the new products column of the April 1940 issue of Asahi Camera.[6] This model is said to be a Baldax copy with a folding optical finder and a body release.[6] The lens and shutter combinations mentioned are a Rosen 75/4.5 lens on a Lex shutter and a Keef or Welta 75/4.5 lens on a Prontor II shutter.[7]

The official list of set prices compiled in late 1940 and published in January 1941 has a Semi Rosen III, listed for ¥74 with no further detail.[8]

No record of a Semi Rosen II has been found yet.

The Semi Rosen U

The Semi Rosen U is another Ikonta copy, advertised in 1942 but certainly introduced earlier. Its body completely differs from the original model: it is more angular, has metal trimming and seems to be made of die-cast metal instead of pressed steel. The folding optical finder is more modern, with its rear part folding above the front one. The camera normally has a body release on the left of the viewfinder and a folding bed release on the right. The back latch consists of a long sliding bar and there is no leather handle. The name ROSEN is embossed in the front leather: the letter "R" is larger than the others and extends under the whole word.

The Semi Rosen U is listed in the January 1941 official price list too, for ¥88.[9] A similar price list dated November 1941 has a "Semi Rosen U" and a "Semi Rosen UII", with no further details.[10]

In an advertisement dated January 1942 in Hōdō Shashin,[11] the Semi Rosen U was offered with a Presto shutter giving T, B, 1–500 speeds and a choice of two lenses: a Rosen f/3.5 (¥161) and a Rosen f/4.5 (¥130). The f/3.5 version probably corresponds to the Semi Rosen UII. The f/4.5 version was offered alone in an advertisement dated February 1942 in Asahi Camera.[12]

The government inquiry compiled in April 1943 lists the Semi Rosen U in two versions, with the Rapid-Presto shutter made by Kinshō and a Hildar 75/4.5 or Hildar 75/3.5 three-element lens made by Ōki.[13]

Two examples have been observed with the Rapid-Presto shutter.[14] The speed rim is engraved RAPID–PRESTO at the bottom, the shutter plate is inscribed PRESTO at the top and K.S. FABRIK at the bottom. These examples reportedly have a Hildar Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 lens.

One example has been observed with a Rapit Anastigmat 75mm f/3.5 lens and an unknown shutter, only inscribed K.K.S. at the bottom of the shutter plate.[15] It reportedly has a K.S. Nippon marking on the back.

Another example has been observed with a Prouder II shutter, giving T, B, 1–175 speeds and having a self-timer.[16] The shutter plate is inscribed PROUDER II at the bottom and reportedly Kostbar Bruder at the top. The lens is reported as a Coronar Anastigmat 75mm f/5.6. This example has no body release and the folding bed release is placed at the bottom, next to the advance key.

Notes

  1. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi attributes the Semi Rosen to Ōsawa Shōkai, but it was probably the distributor only.
  2. ↑ K.S. Nippon marking reported in an online auction. Kinshō is known to have used a K.S. logo on the Vero Four and a K.S. FABRIK marking on the Rapid-Presto shutter.
  3. ↑ Sugiyama, items 1243–4, and McKeown, pp.572 and 804, attribute the Semi Rosen U both to "K.S. Fabrik" and to Proud.
  4. ↑ Dates: advertisements listed in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.343.
  5. ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.104.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.343.
  7. ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.343. The names Lex and Keef are written in katakana only: レックス and キーフ. "Welta" is inferred from the katakana ウエルタ.
  8. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 3, section 4A.
  9. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku", type 3, section 6A.
  10. ↑ "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō", November 1941, type 3, sections 6B and 7B.
  11. ↑ Advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.105.
  12. ↑ Advertisement visible in this page of Xylocopal's photolog.
  13. ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943, items 31–2, lens items Lb27 and Lc6, shutter item 18-R-4.
  14. ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1244, and example pictured in McKeown, p.804.
  15. ↑ Example observed in an online auction.
  16. ↑ Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1243.

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. Items 328–30.
  • "Kamera no kōtei kakaku kanpō happyō" (カメラの公定価格官報発表, Official announcement of the set prices of the cameras), November 1941. Extract of a table listing Japanese camera production and setting the retail prices, reproduced in "Bebī Semi Fāsuto 'Kore ha bebī wo nanotta semi-ki da'" (ベビーセミファースト"これはベビーを名乗ったセミ機だ", Baby Semi First, 'this is a Semi camera called Baby'), an article by Furukawa Yasuo (古川保男) in Camera Collectors' News no. 277 (July 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P. 27. Type 3, sections 6B and 7B.
  • "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. Items 31–2.
  • "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 3, sections 4A and 6A.
  • 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). Pp.572 and 804.
  • 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 1243–4.

Links

In Japanese:

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