My mistake. Darned cataracts!Originally Posted by Oren Grad
My mistake. Darned cataracts!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Whatever happened to the art of crafting these cameras out of old-growth natural cherry wood?
These newer creations look like they were dipped in red dye #2.
After some research online and a few emails back and forth with the owner of a specialty camera shop in japan that I know, I believe I understand the confusion in this thread better. It turns out there are two Nagaoka camera brands. Nagaoka Seisakusho made by Keiichiro Nagaoka beginning in 1958, this is the brand that I'm familiar with. While Nagaoka Woody was a separate company of wooden view cameras established in 1911. This comes from the owner of the shop who says that he has sold both brands before.
Jim
This does not sound correct. I wonder whether something is getting lost in translation.
My Nippon Camera annuals do not show two separate Nagaoka companies, only one. The Nagaoka view cameras that they list, all under the "Woody" brand, are attributed to Nagaoka Seisakusho (長岡製作所), which is the same company designation as on the old-style brand label on the "classic" Nagaoka cameras that many of us are familiar with. Also, the street address they provide for the company is AFAIK the same one in Ueno that Keiichiro Nagaoka used.
Can your correspondent provide more details that would help us sort this out? For example, formal company names and addresses.
EDIT: FWIW, the same camera shown in the eBay auction link posted by the OP is also currently listed on Yahoo Japan by a seller "ReRe Yahoo!ショッピング店" ("ReRe Yahoo shopping store"). In that listing the camera is attributed to 長岡製作所.
Here's a link to a 4x5 "Woody" in Japan https://sunrise-camera.net/products/detail/747 It has the same nameplate as the 8x10 Woody in the first post.
I can't find any pics of a Nagaoka Seisakusho badged camera that also has the "Woody" designation, so I suspect that they are indeed two different manufacturers as aphcl84 states. It's easy to see how the confusion could arise, since they are all generically "woody" cameras.
The photo in the listing of that same Woody 45W model in my Nippon Camera annuals shows the old-style "Nagaoka Seisakusho" nameplate, and the camera is attributed to 長岡製作所 at the Ueno address.
I'll ask if he can provide any more details about the company, though if there is no official record of another Nagaoka brand then I have to wonder if he was just mistaken. He was a seller of used cameras rather than dealing directly with Mr. Nagaoka. Either way it will be interesting to know the truth, as the above camera design is a radical departure in materials, design, stain color and logo. If it was made by him I wonder why the change in design?
Jim
The particular sample shown in the eBay listing is indeed something of a conundrum, as it does differ in important details from the late-model 8x10 Woody with floating front standard that I was familiar with. Because it most closely mimics the earlier Phillips Compact rather than the later Compact II, I can only speculate that it was a transition model for Nagaoka. But so far I have no documentation to support that. It would sure be nice to have definitive information.
Here's a link to a Japanese interview with Mr. Nagaoka from 2020. https://serai.jp/hobby/1002833 You can use Google Translate to convert it to English, or other languages.
The first B&W picture shows Mr. Nagaoka with an 8x10 camera that has some significant similarities to the Woody camera in the original post. The rise/fall locking knobs look like the oblong wooden ones in the original post. The bed looks similar to the one in the original post, but there are some clear differences. It does look more like the 8x10 bed in the original post than the bed in the usual Nagaoka 8x10 however.
Mr. Nagaoka pointed out that he wasn't able to get many of his usual parts from external suppliers anymore, and had to make things himself. That could explain some of the design changes. He also explained that he was using a different type of wood, since the cherry he used to use was too rare and expensive now.
The only picture with a nameplate showed the old one with the Nagaoka Seisakusho badge, so there is still some uncertainty there, but it does seem reasonable that he could be using a new nameplate. The article also said that he was working for another camera builder before he set up his own company, so maybe that's the derivation of the 1911 date.
It is a really difficult question from mere pictures. For example, a web picture is no substitute for inspecting the actual wood grain up close. Cheaper cameras, especially from India, seem to have often used cheaper more abundant types of "hardwood". But then Sharktooth has just given an alternate reason for that possibility itself. And based on that picture of Mr Nagaoka holding one of his last made cameras, should his later camera design itself be classified as a discount knockoff - namely of Phillips? I'm a shooter, and not a camera collector, so all of this is merely academic to me, but fun with respect to me and numerous others being involved in fine woodworking ourselves, in one way or another. So I certainly admire Nagaoka's tenacity at least.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks