Earliest Pentamatic US Sales Brochure

September 26, 2015June 1, 2017Chris and Carol 6 Comments

Very early if not the earliest US printed sales brochure for the new Pentamatic.

I’m thinking the summer of 1960…

I haven’t found an earlier brochure that features the Pentamatic then this one. “Printed in the U.S.A.” on back cover using the 234 Fifth Avenue, New York 1, N.Y. address. The cover is amazing in that other than Yashica’s name and a image of the camera there is no other writing. No “Pentamatic”. Just an image of the camera. That was a first for Yashica as best as I can tell. The first magazine advertisement was June 1960 in the US so I don’t believe this brochure was out before that. The only problem with my thinking is that most of the other cameras featured inside this brochure are 1959 model cameras and in some cases late 1958. Could even be a few that came out in early 1960. The two pages scanned here contain an interesting wealth of info on the features and accessories. Of note, the lens serial number (No. 59100036) puts that lens to be one of the first lenses Tomioka made for Yashica with the new bayonet mount (December 1959).

Page 1 provides a wealth of info for Yashica’s first 35mm SLR.

Page 2 shows (with prices) a nice selection of accessories for the Pentamatic.

Pentamatic Instruction Booklets

September 26, 2015September 26, 2015Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica Pentamatic instruction booklets… 1960 and 1961

Not often seen as they were not kept by most owners over the years. I still haven’t found the Pentamatic II booklet and maybe never will.

A few images…

Pentamatic-S Instruction Booklet 1961.

Back Cover for the Pentamatic-S.

Original Pentamatic Instruction Booklet 1960. Yashica’s first instruction booklet covering their first 35mm SLR. So far I’ve only located English language booklets.

Back cover for the Pentamatic Instruction Booklet.

Some Fun Items from Yashica c1962

September 25, 2015September 26, 2015Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A fun little find recently. Yashica’s Sailor Boy found on a vinyl shopping bag from around 1962. Looks like it was a promotional item from Yashica and features the name of the dealer on the reverse side of the bag. The bag stands about 14 inches tall and about 6 inches wide. Made from heavyweight vinyl that has stood the test of time!

Looks like Yashica had first drawn these cute girls around late 1958 or early 1959. They appear individually here and there in sales brochures for the Japanese domestic market. The girls are not named as best as I can tell so I’ve decided that “Ya”, “Shi” and “Ka” fits nicely. The best I can do with a translations is: Camera Store in Matsue and Izumo “Ota Metrology Shop”.

Yashima / Yashica Odds and Ends…

September 17, 2015Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Recently discovered silica gel packs from around 1956 or so. First time I’ve seen the dual designation of Yashima / Yashica on something as small as these. The company was changing its name from Yashima Optical Industries Company, Limited to Yashica Company, Limited. These were part of a complete original Yashica LM set I recently added to my collection.

The Yashica Sailor Boy…

September 8, 2015Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Sailor Boy going tropical for the introduction of the new Yashica Electro 35 in 1966…

Yashica's Sailor Boy gone tropical over the new Electro 35. Found this guy on a neat beach bag that I aqquired from Japan recently.

Yashica’s Sailor Boy gone tropical over the new Electro 35 electronic exposure 35 mm rangefinder camera. Found this guy on a neat beach bag that I acquired from Japan recently.

Neat beach bag with Yashica's Sailor Boy on it. From around 1966 or so.

Cool (and rather large) beach bag with Yashica’s Sailor Boy on it. From around 1966 or so. The bag stands about 49 cm tall and the Sailor Boy is about 15 cm tall. Made of heavy duty vinyl, it’s held up rather well over the years.

Original Yashica Pentamatic S Box

September 8, 2015Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A rather rare look at a Pentamatic S box…

Not often seen Yashica Pentamatic S original box fromound 1961. This box features an actual image (photograph) of a "S" body and lens on the box lid. The lens is from an early release (serial number is from 1959) series more likely found on the original Pentamatic released in mid 1960. The box came to me from Tokyo and is now part of my collection. It does need some restoration work done on the flaps and the hinge area of the lid... otherwise it's in pretty good condition overall.

Not often seen Yashica Pentamatic S original box from around 1961. This box features an actual image (photograph) of a Pentamatic S and lens on the box lid. The lens is from an early release (at least by serial number which is from 1959) series more likely found on the original Pentamatic released in mid 1960. The box came to me from Tokyo and is now part of my collection. It does need some restoration work done on the flaps and the hinge area of the lid… otherwise it’s in pretty good condition overall. It is a strong departure from the original Pentamatic box which was its own unique design and style. This box follows in line with what became the “standard” Yashica box for most of their cameras released in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

Yashima Optical Ind. Co., Ltd. (Yashica) Factory

September 3, 2015September 3, 2015Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Yashica’s new factory in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture… 1956

Wonderful illustration of Yashica’s new factory in Nagano Prefecture along the shores of Lake Suwa. From here, Yashica grew to become a large international camera manufacturer that dominated (in terms of sales) nearly every other camera company in Japan by the end of the 1950s. By the start of the 1960s, Yashica boldly introduced many new and innovative products that in some cases, had never been seen before. Never going after the high end professional market, Yashica continued to build high quality cameras at very affordable prices. A true camera for the masses.