VTG Super RARE 48-52 Minolta Semi No 16686 Folding Camera Made In Occupied Japan

Description

VTG
Super RARE
1948-1952
Minolta Semi III
No 16686
Folding Camera
Made In Occupied Japan
Konan Rapid
Chiyoko
chiyoko osaka Rokkor lens
Pre owned
in good cosmetic condition for age
UNTESTED for function..
The Semi Minolta III(A)
The
original version
, made from 1946 to 1950, is retrospectively called "Semi Minolta IIIA" because of the IIIB and IIIC, but at the time it was only called "New Semi Minolta" or "Semi Minolta III" (see below).
Distinguishing features
The original version is distinguished from the
IIIB
by the absence of flash synchronization (unless the feature was added by an independent repairer). The accessory shoe is used only to attach a rangefinder or angle finder, though it seems that the company was making no such accessory at the period. The III(A) also has double exposure prevention, via an internal linkage between the body release and the film advance mechanism, and therefore lacks the advance unlock button visible at the front of the top plate on the later
IIIC
.
Production of the Semi Minolta III reportedly started in mid-1946; later official sources specify a month comprised between April and August.
[2]
The camera was first advertised in the September 1946 issue of
Ars Camera
,
[3]
and was featured in the January 1947 issue of the magazine, reproduced above.
[1]
The text of the announcement says that the company had developed a glass-melting facility during the war, and designed the new four-element Rokkor lens using home-made glass. It also mentions lens coating, which was an all new feature in Japan at the time.
Early advertisements in the same magazine are reproduced below, from December 1946 to December 1947.
[4]
Most mention the Konan-Rapid and Rokkor combination. All these documents give the name "New Semi Minolta" (新型のセミ・ミノルタ), and show drawings instead of pictures of the camera. By contrast, the February 1948 advertisement in
Ars Camera
gives the name "Semi Minolta III" (セミ・ミノルタⅢ型), and contains an actual picture of an early camera with no cable release thread.
[5]
In 1947, 170 units of the Semi Minolta III were sent to Johannesburg in South Africa; these were the first Japanese cameras exported after World War II.
[6]
In 1948, 200 cameras were dispatched to Willoughby's (New York City) and 60 other to Hawaii and further destinations.
[7]
Pictures of an early III(A) with no cable release thread still appear in the advertisements placed by the distributor
Asanuma Shōkai
in the November 1949 and January 1950 issues of
Asahi Camera
, reproduced below.
[8]
(These pictures were perhaps outdated at the time.)
Variations on actual examples
Early variant
The
early variant
has no cable release thread in the shutter button, and has two arrows engraved above the advance knob.
Among these cameras, the
earliest examples
have natural leather covering, with the name
Minolta
embossed at the front in straight lowercase characters. Their shutter plate has separate crescent-shaped plates screwed at the front: the top one reads
KōNAN–CHIYOKO
and the bottom one has an extra aperture scale, for a second diaphragm index. The shutter rim is engraved
KŌNAN–RAPID
, and the lens bezel has
CHIYOKŌ OSAKA ROKKOR 1:3.5 f=75mm No.xxx
in white characters on a black background. The distance scale is engraved in metres. The lowest body numbers observed so far are no.64 and 65, paired with three-digit lens numbers in the 10x range.
[9]
The natural leather covering was soon substituted by artificial leatherette, with a slanted
Minolta
embossing inside a hexagonal frame. The shutter plate was modified at about the same time, now consisting of a single part inscribed
KONAN–RAPID
at the top and
CHIYOKO
at the bottom, with no extra aperture scale. The inscription on the shutter rim remained the same.
After some time, the inscription on the lens bezel was modified, becoming
Chiyokō Osaka ROKKOR 1:3.5 f=75mm Nr xxxx
around lens no.3000. Around the same period, the curved release cam of the Konan-Rapid shutter was also replaced by a shorter part. (One isolated example has been observed with a PC synch socket and a
COMPUR–RAPID
engraving on the shutter rim, paired with the usual
KONAN–RAPID
shutter plate, probably because parts were swapped with another camera.)
[10
Middle variant
The
middle variant
has a single stylized arrow on the advance knob, introduced around body no.3000. The words
MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN
are sometimes engraved around the tripod socket — certainly on the cameras made for export.
The lens marking was modified again between lens no.7000 and 8000, the
Nr
prefix becoming
No
. The markings on the shutter plate were altered too, with macrons appearing on the top and bottom
KōNAN–RAPID
and
CHIYOKō
inscriptions. At about the same time, the black spring placed inside the accessory shoe was replaced by a similar silver part.
Late variant
The
late variant
has a thread for a cable release inside the release button, introduced around body no.10xxx. At some point, the camera received a distance scale in feet, down to 3ft. Some examples from that period have a engraving in
katakana
script on the advance knob: シーピーオー inside a diamond,
[11]
meaning that the cameras were bought by the Central Purchasing Office (
CPO
) and sold to U.S. personnel stationed in Japan.
The
last examples
have a plain black shutter plate, lacking the silver stripes on both sides of the lens. It is inscribed
KONAN RAPID
at the top, with a white arrow between both words, and
CHIYOKO
at the bottom, with no macron. At about the same time, the macron on the speed ring was abandoned too, and the marking simply became
KONAN–RAPID
.
being sold as is for its historic and collectible value
see pictures for more details
RETURNS ARE ACCEPTED
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we can only describe what we know and what we see
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PLEASE SEE PICTURES AS THEY ARE PART OF THE DESCRIPTION
SHIPPING QUOTE IS TO LOWER 48 STATES ONLY ( excluding HI, PR & AK)
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buyer must pay return shipping; no exceptions, whether this
item is ri
ght for you or not.