Victor folders
The Victor folders are a Japanese 4.5×6 and 6×6 folding cameras, made between 1937 and 1939 by the company Motodori Shashin Kikai Kōgyō-sho that was later called Nissan Kōgaku Kōgyō-sha and sometimes used the name Victor Camera Works.[1] The original Victor was the successor of the nearly identical Semi Lester and the series was followed by the similar Condor folders.
General description
All the models are copies of the Baldax. When held vertically by the photographer, the advance knob is at the top right and the viewfinder is at the middle left. The back is hinged to the left and there is a strap at the right end of the body.
Evolution
The original Victor has a folding optical finder and no body release. In an advertisement by Motodori dated October 1937[2], the following variants are listed, all with a front-cell focusing lens and a variant of the Rulex shutter by Neumann & Heilemann:
- Delter[3] Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex D shutter, 25–150, B, T speeds (¥50);
- Delter Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex B shutter, 5–150, B, T speeds (¥58);
- Delter Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds (¥65);
- Quick[4] Anastigmat 75/3.5 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds (¥78).
A later advertisement dated June 1938[5] calls the camera Semi Victor and adds the following variant:
- Quick Anastigmat 75/2.9 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds (¥95).
Notes
- ↑ Dates: Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 84.
- ↑ Name inferred from the katakana デルター and reported in McKeown, p. 945.
- ↑ Name inferred from the katakana クイック appearing in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 339. The October 1937 advertisement reads クツク, a probable typo.
- ↑ Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p. 85.
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 188–9 and 191. (See also the advertisement for item 190.)
- 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. 945.