Hamond

The Hamond (ハモンド) is a series of Japanese novelties combining a pair of binoculars and a camera taking 3×4cm exposures on 127 film. They were advertised by Marusō in the first half of 1939 and were perhaps sold until the war.

Description

Hamond A, Macold 50mm f/6.3 lens no.12xx. Pictures courtesy of eBayer Keithsplace. (Image rights)

Back latch. (Image rights)

The Hamond has a prism-shaped metal body, with a tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. The oculars are contained in the body between the film spools and the exposure chamber, so that the eyepieces protrude from the camera's top plate. There is a folding optical finder in the middle. Film is advanced via a key placed at the bottom right of the body, as seen by the photographer. The back is hinged to the left and contains two uncovered red windows. The name HAMOND is sometimes embossed in the front leather.

The features and shape of the lenses and shutters are similar to the ones for the Baby Chrome. It is supposed that the lens and shutter assemblies were provided by Optochrom, and the camera body was perhaps assembled there too. The shutter plate is marked WING PATENT at the top, with a logo perhaps depicting a pair of wings, and HAMOND at the bottom. The name "Wing" is akin to the "Tsubasa" name used by Optochrom on many products (tsubasa means "wing" in Japanese).

Versions

The Hamond was advertised in January 1939 in two versions, distinguished by the lens and shutter equipment and by the magnification of the binoculars:

• Hamond B: Macold f/4.5 lens, Hamond shutter, 25, 50, 100, T, B speeds, 5× magnification (¥37);
• Hamond Junior: Macold f/6.3 lens, Hamond shutter, 25, 50, 100, B speeds, 3× magnification (¥25).

A third version with f/3.5 lens was mentioned as "available in March" (三月発売).

In an advertisement dated June 1939, the two same versions were listed but the f/6.3 version was called Hamond A and cost ¥27. The f/3.5 version was still indicated as "available soon" (近日発売).

The Hamond was still listed in the list of set prices compiled in October 1940, in two versions called "Hamond A" (¥32) and "Hamond D" (¥60) with no further detail. The name and the price might suggest that the Hamond D was the f/3.5 version previously announced.

Macold 50mm f/6.3 lens no.12xx, Hamond shutter. Picture courtesy of eBayer Keithsplace. (Image rights)

Actual examples

Two examples of the Hamond A have been observed, one is pictured in Sugiyama and the other is pictured in this page. They have the Macold 50mm f/6.3 lens mentioned in the advertisement, and the name HAMOND embossed in the front leather. They are similar to the Hamond B pictured in this page of the JCII collection except for the lens.

Another example is pictured in Sugiyama with no embossing and a different folding finder. The shutter gives B, 25, 50 speeds, with a similar shutter plate design. The lens is a 50mm f/8, marked NEW-GOLD like the lenses of the Baby Chrome. The lens number is 1013, perhaps a very low number in a sequence starting at 1000. This example is perhaps a prototype.

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. Item 180–1.
• "Kokusan shashinki no kōtei kakaku" (国産写真機の公定価格, Set prices of the Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of October 25, 1940 and setting the retail prices from December 10, 1940. Published in Asahi Camera January 1941 and reproduced in 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. Pp.108—9. Type 1, sections 2 and 5.
• Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), ISBN 0-935398-16-3 (hard). P.55 (brief mention only).
• Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. Items 4037–8.

Links

In Japanese:

• Hamond B in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology