Vero Four
The Vero Four was a prewar Japanese camera taking 4x4cm pictures on 127 film. It was probably made by a company called Star Camera Works. The lens and shutter assembly were mounted on a telescopic tube with helical focusing. It had a rigid optical viewfinder, an accessory shoe at the extreme left and an automatic stop advance mechanism with an exposure counter. There was what looks like a body release on the top plate.
It was advertised in the 1937/1/17 issue of Asahi Graph (ad visible at this page), with a Vero Anastigmat 60/3.5 lens and a Rapid Vero T-B-1-2-5-25-50-100-300-500 shutter (note the absence of 1/10, maybe a mistake). Its price with lens hood, filter holder and case was 115 yen. The ad indicated 14 exposures in 4x4 format, probably by mistake.
It was also advertised in a 1938 issue of Asahi Camera, with the same lens and shutter (1/10 also absent). The price was the same, with no mention of the case. The ad now indicated 12 exposures.
It has been reported by a dealer with a Verona Anastigmat 60/3.5 lens. The camera pictured in McKeown also has a Verona Anastigmat 60/3.5 lens, and it shows slight differences with the ads. The position of the body release exposure counter window, and the shape of this window, are not the same. The shutter rim is marked VERO in the ads, in McKeown's example it is RAPID-VERO with T-B-1-2-5-10-25-50-100-300-500 speeds. In the ads, the cameras have all metal finish, in McKeown it is covered with black leather or leatherette.
McKeown lists the camera under Uyeda Camera, but the company name in both ads was Star Camera Works (スターカメラウワークス).
