Beautycord

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The Beautycords were knob-wind 6×6 TLR cameras with 80mm lenses made by Taiyōdō Koki, seemingly as modestly lower specification alternatives to their Beautyflex counterparts (in the manner of Rolleiflexes and Rolleicords), and which were accordingly equipped with three-element lenses such as the Tri-lausar.

Beautycords appear to have been produced from around 1955 (according to McKeown's), the year after Taiyōdō Koki abandoned geared-lens focusing in favour of a moving baseboard, and were possibly made until mid-1957 when Taiyōdō Koki ceased TLR production to focus on 35mm models. The earliest trace of the Beautycord advertised in "the press" is May 1956. Beautycords appear to have been priced at about $60, but sold for slightly over $30.


Four models are known, but all share a common name with the exception of the Beautycord S. Ironically, this model was stylistically similar to the Beautyflex T with its rim-set shutter release, and unlike the Beautyflex S, which had a lens board mounted release. The "S" designation is known from a surviving instruction manual for the model. The shutter was a "TKK" with speeds of 1/10 to 1/200, and lenses included matched pairs of "Tri-lausar" (common), "J Beauty", or "Scienor" (rare).


A second model is known amongst collectors as the TKK Beautycord, because it uniquely bore a flat nameplate with "Beautycord T.K.K" in capital letters. However, some "TKK" models had a nameplate identical to all other Beautycords, with a fluted edge and lower case letters that simply read "Beautycord". The shutter was a "Beauty-FB" with speeds 1/10 to 1/200, and the lenses a matched pair of "J Beauty". Examples of this camera with the original packaging box can be found on auction sites, and the images confirm this variant was simply called the Beautycord.


A third model stylistically resembled the Beautyflex S, with an lens board mounted shutter release (as opposed to the rim-set of the Beautyflex T and Beautycord S), but the shutter and lenses were different. The shutter was a "CHY-FB" with speeds 1 to 1/300, and the the lenses a matched pair of Tri-lausars. It is tempting (as a collector) to call this model the Beautycord S, but the name has inconveniently been taken. This model is the least common of all the Beautycords


The forth model stylistically resembled the Beautyflex D, with an lens board mounted shutter release and Rolleiflex-style bayonet filter attachments on both lenses, but the shutter and lenses were different. The shutter was a "Synchro-Super" with speeds 1 to 1/200, and the lenses a matched pair of Tri-lausars. According to a 1960 dealer advert in the newspaper "Jornal do Brasil" (plus few others) this camera was known as the Beautycord Model II.

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