Crystar, later Crystal, was a Japanese camera maker of the 1950s.
History[]
The company was perhaps founded in 1953, under the name Crystar Kōki K.K. (クリスター光機㈱, Kurisutā Kōki K.K.), and first made the Crystar Flex TLR, distributed by Iwato Shōkai.[1]
The Sister Six folder was released in early 1954; at least one original document attributes it to Sister Kōgaku Kōgyō (シスター光学工業);[2] this might be a separate company which merged into Crystar Kōki.
The products of Crystar Kōki were distributed by Sumimitsu in early 1954 and by Lista Shōkai in the middle of the year.[3] The address of the company at the time was Arakawa-ku Mikawashima 5–354 (荒川区三河島5–354) in Tokyo.[4]
The company name became K.K. Crystal (㈱クリスタル, K.K. Kurisutaru) between August and October 1954.[5] The address remained unchanged until 1957.[6] The last model of the company was the Crystar 35-S viewfinder camera. All trace is lost after August 1957.[7]
Not all cameras called Crystar were made by this company, and the Crystar 45 TLR distributed by Sumimitsu in mid-1954 was made by Ōshiro Seisakusho. It is not known whether the Hit-type Crystar camera is related to Crystar Kōki.
6×6 TLR[]
- Crystar Flex
- Crystar 25
- Crystar IIA
- Gendis-I, Gendis-II[8]
4.5×6 folders[]
6×6 folders[]
35mm viewfinder[]
- Crystar 35 K
- Crystar 35-S
Notes[]
- ↑ Advertisement dated December 1953 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.135.
- ↑ Extract from an unknown magazine, reproduced in Furukawa, p.23 of Camera Collectors' News no.275.
- ↑ Advertisements dated February, May and August 1954 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.135 and 140.
- ↑ Advertisement dated August 1954 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.135.
- ↑ Advertisements reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.135.
- ↑ Advertisements dated June and November 1955, June 1956 and July 1957, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.135, 154, 155 and 240.
- ↑ August 1957: date of the last advertisements and articles mentioned in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.385 (item 1249).
- ↑ These are probably distributor names. See the Crystar page at tlr-cameras.com and this user manual at butkus.org.
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.
- Furukawa Haruo (古川保男). "Orient Six: 'Bake no kawa hagareta oriento no shisha'" (Orient Six・'化けの皮剥がれたオリエントの使者', Orient Six: 'A messenger from the Orient, after having peeled off its skin'). In Camera Collectors' News no.275 (May 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.21–3.
- 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). Pp.231–2.
Links[]
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