Tōkyō Seiki

See also the Prince page for a related discussion.

The name Doris appears on various Japanese cameras:

• cameras attributed to a company called Prince Camera Works (by McKeown) or to Fukada Shōkai (深田商会) (by Kokusan kamera no rekishi):
  • Baby Doris I, II, III, 3×4 folding
• cameras attributed to Fukada Shōkai (by Kokusan kamera no rekishi):
  • Doris, 3×4 strut collapsible
• cameras attributed to Tokyo Seiki (東京精機株式会社 Tōkyō Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha) (by McKeown):
  • Doris, 6×4.5 folding
  • Doris P, 6×4.5 folding
• cameras attibuted to a company called Doris Camera (ドリスカメラ) (by McKeown):
  • Doris IA, 6×4.5 folding
  • Doris Six, 6×6
  • Dorisflex
  • Dorisflex A

Niimi does not mention Fukada Shōkai but says that the Doris of Tokyo Seiki was named after its maker (presumably meaning designer), a Mr Motodori: "Dori's camera", thus "Doris".

A 4.5×6 folder has been observed at a Yahoo Japan auction with the name DORIS engraved in the top housing. Its body was a copy of the Ikonta A but its finder was enclosed in a top housing, with an accessory shoe and a rotating depth-of-field scale. There were two horizontal lines on the front of the top housing, reminiscent of the Pearl II by Konishiroku, but on the other side of the finder. There was one red window in the back, protected by a sliding cover. The lens was a 75mm f:3.5 (name barely legible, maybe Penta-Anastigmat) and the shutter had B, 1–200 speeds. A similar camera is pictured in McKeown, without the depth-of-field scale and with a Convex B, 10–200 shutter and a 75/3.5 lens. It is identified as a Doris Semi P and McKeown says that the lens is called "Perfa Anastigmat".

Reference / further reading

• Niimi Kahee (新見嘉兵衛). Kamera-mei no gogen sanpo (カメラ名の語源散歩, Strolls in the etymology of camera names). 2nd ed. Tokyo: Shashin Kōgyō Shuppansha, 2002. ISBN 4-87956-060-X
• 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.
• 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). Pages 250, 803, 927–8.