Taisei Kōki

From Camerapedia.org

Taisei Kōki K.K. (大成光機㈱) was a Japanese camera maker based in Tokyo in the 1950s.^[1]

It is said that the company Fuji Kōgaku was split in two parts after the war: Taisei Kōki and Katsuma Kōgaku, with the latter keeping the Lyra brand name.^[2] (Fuji Kōgaku and Katsuma both used the brand name Lyra on various cameras.)

All three companies Fuji Kōgaku, Katsuma Kōgaku and Taisei Kōki used the Terionar lens name, and they have similar logos, showing a cemented doublet lens scheme, with a protuberance on top, maybe an allusion to Mount Fuji. The logo used by Taisei Kōki on the Welmy range is written TAISEI WELMY.

There is no mention of Taisei Kōki after 1959 and it is probable that the company went bankrupt.

Contents 1 35mm film 2 120 film 3 127 film 4 Notes 5 Source / further reading 6 Links

35mm film

• Welmy 35
• Welmy 35 M-2
• Welmy 35 M-3
• Welmy Wide
• Super Welmy 35

120 film

• Welmy Six (6×6 folding)
• Welmy Six E (6×6 folding)
• Welmy Six L (6×6 folding)
• Welmy Flex (6×6 TLR)

127 film

• Welmy 44 (4×4 rangefinder)

Notes

1. ↑ The address was Tōkyō-to Itabashi-ku Itabashi-chō 3–481 (東京都板橋区板橋町3の481) from 1952 to 1957 and Tōkyō-to Itabashi-ku Kumano-chō 45 (東京都板橋区板橋町3の481) in 1958 and 1959. Source: advertisements reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.120 and 223.
2. ↑ According to Tanaka, p.44, and this page at Japan Family Camera.

Source / further reading

• 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.
• Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). Nihon no niganrefu: Zenpen (日本の二眼レフ：前編, The TLRs of Japan, vol.1). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1983. ISBN 4-257-08088-4

Links

In Japanese:

• Welmy 35 and Kalimar A at AEI Collectibles

In French:

• Cameras at www.collection-appareils.fr