Difference between revisions of "Speed Pocket"
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{{Japanese Vest}} | {{Japanese Vest}} | ||
| − | The '''Speed Pocket''' (スピード・ポケット) is a Japanese folding camera taking 4×6.5 pictures on [[127 film]], advertised in 1936 and 1937 by | + | The '''Speed Pocket''' (スピード・ポケット) is a Japanese folding camera taking 4×6.5 pictures on [[127 film]] made by [[Petri|Kuribayashi]].<REF> Attribution to Kuribayashi: {{Inquiry1943_short}}, item 180. </REF> It was advertised in 1936 and 1937 by First Camera Works or [[Minagawa|Minagawa Shōten]], and it was perhaps made until the war.<REF> Dates: {{Kokusan}}, p. 340, lists advertisements and articles dated 1936 and 1937. Baird, pp. 99–101, says that it was first called "Speed Pocket" in 1934 then "First Speed Pocket" in 1936 but this seems wrong, and Lewis, p. 54, also gives 1934 as the release date. Sugiyama, item 1052, McKeown, p. 577, and [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?18=&key=103310371051&APage=618 this page of the JCII collection] all say 1936. </REF> |
== Description of the body == | == Description of the body == | ||
| − | The Speed Pocket is a vertical folder copied from the [[Agfa]] [[Billy 0]]. The metal struts have an incurved slot guiding the front standard when folding the bed. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate. The key to wind the film | + | The Speed Pocket is a vertical folder copied from the [[Agfa]] [[Billy 0]]. The metal struts have an incurved slot guiding the front standard when folding the bed. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate. The key to wind the film and the folding bed release are at the bottom right, as seen by a photographer holding the camera horizontally. The back is hinged to the left. |
| − | The top and bottom plates and the standing leg have "art-deco" patterns directly copied from the Billy 0. The | + | The top and bottom plates and the standing leg have "art-deco" patterns directly copied from the Billy 0. The name ''SPEED'' is embossed in the front leather, in capital letters with a higher "S". |
| − | The | + | The [[Pocket Prince]] distributed by [[Fukada Shōkai]] and usually attributed to [[Prince|Prince Camera Works]] or [[Fujimoto]] has an apparently identical body. It is not known if the two cameras were related. [[Petri|Kuribayashi]] perhaps supplied the bodies of the Pocket Prince to [[Fukada Shōkai]]. |
== Evolution, lens and shutter equipment == | == Evolution, lens and shutter equipment == | ||
| − | The Speed Pocket was featured in the new products column of the January 1937 issue of ''Asahi Camera''.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p. 340. </REF> The camera was called Speed Pocket and mentioned as a new model in an advertisement dated December 1936.<REF> | + | The Speed Pocket was featured in the new products column of the January 1937 issue of ''Asahi Camera''.<REF> {{Kokusan}}, p. 340. </REF> The camera was called Speed Pocket and mentioned as a new model in an advertisement dated December 1936.<REF> Advertisement published in ''Asahi Camera,'' reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p. 86. </REF> It was offered for {{yen|50|1936}} with a Toko f/4.5 lens by [[Tōkyō Kōgaku]] and a selftimer-equipped [[Licht]] shutter by [[Hattori|Seikōsha]]. Versions equipped with a [[Magna]] shutter and an f/6.3 or f/4.5 lens were announced as available soon. No mention was made of the ability to take 3×4cm pictures and in the advertising picture (also reproduced in [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?18=&key=103310371051&APage=618 this page of the JCII collection]) the viewfinder does not appear to be adapted for half-frame exposures. |
| − | + | In an advertisement dated April 1937 mentioning the dual-format feature, the Licht and Toko combination was offered for the slightly lower price of {{yen|48|1937}} and the Magna shutter was no more mentioned.<REF> Advertisement published in ''Camera Club'', reproduced in {{Kokusan}}, p. 88. </REF> Both advertisements cited give the company name First Camera Works and a list of authorized dealers.<REF> List of authorized dealers: [[Hattori|Hattori Tokei-ten]], [[Ōmiya|Ōmiya Shashin-yōhin]], [[Mizuno|Mizuno Shashinki-ten]], [[Asanuma|Asanuma Shōkai Honten]], [[Misuzu Shōkai]] and [[Ueda|Ueda Shashinki-ten]]. </REF> | |
| − | + | The Speed Pocket was listed for ¥45 in the {{Kakaku1940_short}} compiled in October 1940, with no further detail.<REF> {{Kakaku1940_short}}, type 2, section 6B. </REF> In the {{Inquiry1943_short}}, listing the Japanese camera production as of April 1943, the Speed Pocket was mentioned as made by [[Petri|Kuribayashi]], distributed by [[Minagawa]] and having a Toko 75/4.5 three-element lens by [[Tōkyō Kōgaku]] and a Licht shutter by [[Hattori|Seikōsha]]. | |
== Actual examples == | == Actual examples == | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
* {{Showa10}} Item 209. (See also the advertisements for item 199.) | * {{Showa10}} Item 209. (See also the advertisements for item 199.) | ||
* {{Baird Petri}} Pp. 18 and 99–101. | * {{Baird Petri}} Pp. 18 and 99–101. | ||
| + | * {{Inquiry1943}} | ||
| + | * {{Kakaku1940}} | ||
* {{Lewis}} P. 51. | * {{Lewis}} P. 51. | ||
* {{McKeown12}} P. 577. | * {{McKeown12}} P. 577. | ||
Revision as of 23:30, 17 February 2007
The Speed Pocket (スピード・ポケット) is a Japanese folding camera taking 4×6.5 pictures on 127 film made by Kuribayashi.[1] It was advertised in 1936 and 1937 by First Camera Works or Minagawa Shōten, and it was perhaps made until the war.[2]
Contents
Description of the body
The Speed Pocket is a vertical folder copied from the Agfa Billy 0. The metal struts have an incurved slot guiding the front standard when folding the bed. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate. The key to wind the film and the folding bed release are at the bottom right, as seen by a photographer holding the camera horizontally. The back is hinged to the left.
The top and bottom plates and the standing leg have "art-deco" patterns directly copied from the Billy 0. The name SPEED is embossed in the front leather, in capital letters with a higher "S".
The Pocket Prince distributed by Fukada Shōkai and usually attributed to Prince Camera Works or Fujimoto has an apparently identical body. It is not known if the two cameras were related. Kuribayashi perhaps supplied the bodies of the Pocket Prince to Fukada Shōkai.
Evolution, lens and shutter equipment
The Speed Pocket was featured in the new products column of the January 1937 issue of Asahi Camera.[3] The camera was called Speed Pocket and mentioned as a new model in an advertisement dated December 1936.[4] It was offered for ¥50 with a Toko f/4.5 lens by Tōkyō Kōgaku and a selftimer-equipped Licht shutter by Seikōsha. Versions equipped with a Magna shutter and an f/6.3 or f/4.5 lens were announced as available soon. No mention was made of the ability to take 3×4cm pictures and in the advertising picture (also reproduced in this page of the JCII collection) the viewfinder does not appear to be adapted for half-frame exposures.
In an advertisement dated April 1937 mentioning the dual-format feature, the Licht and Toko combination was offered for the slightly lower price of ¥48 and the Magna shutter was no more mentioned.[5] Both advertisements cited give the company name First Camera Works and a list of authorized dealers.[6]
The Speed Pocket was listed for ¥45 in the Template:Kakaku1940 short compiled in October 1940, with no further detail.[7] In the "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), listing the Japanese camera production as of April 1943, the Speed Pocket was mentioned as made by Kuribayashi, distributed by Minagawa and having a Toko 75/4.5 three-element lens by Tōkyō Kōgaku and a Licht shutter by Seikōsha.
Actual examples
The camera pictured as a Speed Pocket in Sugiyama, Baird, McKeown and Lewis[8] is probably misidentified: it has a Baron Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5 lens in a Kerio shutter, no art-deco patterns and no SPEED embossing, and it is certainly a Pocket Prince. No genuine surviving example of the Speed Pocket has been observed so far.
Notes
- ↑ Attribution to Kuribayashi: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras"), item 180.
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 340, lists advertisements and articles dated 1936 and 1937. Baird, pp. 99–101, says that it was first called "Speed Pocket" in 1934 then "First Speed Pocket" in 1936 but this seems wrong, and Lewis, p. 54, also gives 1934 as the release date. Sugiyama, item 1052, McKeown, p. 577, and this page of the JCII collection all say 1936.
- ↑ Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 340.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 86.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Camera Club, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 88.
- ↑ List of authorized dealers: Hattori Tokei-ten, Ōmiya Shashin-yōhin, Mizuno Shashinki-ten, Asanuma Shōkai Honten, Misuzu Shōkai and Ueda Shashinki-ten.
- ↑ Template:Kakaku1940 short, type 2, section 6B.
- ↑ Sugiyama, item 1052, Baird, pp. 99–101, McKeown, p. 577 and Lewis, p. 51.
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 209. (See also the advertisements for item 199.)
- Baird, John R. Collectors guide to Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras. Grantsburg, WI (USA): Centennial Photo Service, 1991. ISBN 0-931838-16-9. Pp. 18 and 99–101.
- "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.
- Template:Kakaku1940
- 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). P. 51.
- 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. 577.
- 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 1052.
Links
In Japanese:
