Source: WHO is this man???
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WHO is this man???
This man appears on the cover…
Of a 1959 dated Yashica instruction booklet for the Yashica A-III twin-lens reflex camera. He also appears in a Yashica sales brochure in German dressed as a cowboy (1950’s style cowboy) with the same pipe and expression. I would love to know this actors name. Any help would be appreciated… greatly!
Yashica’s “Mystery Man”… from the cover of the 1959 Yashica A-III TLR camera instruction booklet.
Even the smallest details count on a restoration…
My ongoing ‘interpretive restoration’ of the Yashima Yashicaflex A-II…
As the title suggests, when restoring a vintage camera there are no unimportant details. Stripping of old paint (in this case baked-on 60-year-old enamel paint) and removing corrosion from small metal parts is tedious and super time-consuming… but absolutely essential. As my ‘interpretive restoration’ progresses into the middle stages I thought I would share some new images.
Important small parts after removing corrosion and a light chemical cleaning. Ready for a coat of etching primer. Clockwise top center… tripod/case retaining screw, left strap holder, right strap holder and accessory (cold) shoe.
After a light (3 coats) of etching primer.
Close-up detail showing the recently painted parts.
Paint removal from the Yashicaflex A-II body. There was plenty of corrosion on the cast aluminum body and the only way to attack it was with a good sanding with 120 grit sandpaper followed by 220 grit. Still some of the original factory enamel paint hangs tough.
Yashima Yashicaflex A-II update…
Somewhat corroded original lens cap for the Yashicaflex A-II. A light cleaning removed the corrosion and prepped the surface for some primer.
Lens cap with a fresh coat of etching primer. Another two coats of primer with some light sanding in between should do nicely. Final color coat will be a surprise and very unexpected! Remember… this is an “interpretive restoration”. My rules.
Finally! Proof of Existence!
In all my years of collecting Yashima / Yashica cameras, brochures and advertisements…
I have yet to find proof that Yashica did or did not release the Pentamatic for the Japanese domestic market. I had always assumed that they did… confident that why wouldn’t they sell their first 35mm single-lens reflex camera at home. But, I didn’t have proof that they did or did not. This image is from a Japanese market sales brochure (found in Yokohama) that looks to be from around early 1961 or so. The Pentamatic II (rare little bird) with a 1.7 lens was available when this brochure was printed. Now to find the original Pentamatic and the S!
Could it be true? The first sighting of the Pentamatic II in a sales brochure for the Japanese home market.
Yashima Yashicaflex A-II Restoration Updates…
Yashima’s new factory produces countless TLRs for the world…
Yashima’s new factory along the shores of beautiful Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture 1956. Many fine craftspeople from the local area came together to design, assemble and test some of the best twin-lens reflex cameras in the world. This woman is likely holding the Yashicaflex A2 (maybe).
Camera’s right side exposed! After numerous hours of scrapping, sanding and cleaning… almost ready for some painting. The bare aluminum body will get a brush coat of zinc chromate sealer/etcher primer. After 60 years of corrosion I want my finish topcoat of satin-black lacquer paint to stay stuck! October 16th change of plans… looks like I’ll use a self etching primer on the exposed aluminum.
First coat of self etching primer on the bare aluminum nameplate. This coat will get wet sanded with 320 grit paper and then another coat of a final lighter weight primer. That final primer will get wet sanded with 1200 grit paper and then the final color coat will be applied.
Original nameplate without the factory black enamel. Ready for the primer coat.
Restoring a Yashima Yashicaflex A-II from 1955
After some light sanding and cleaning with lacquer thinner, an etched or cast-in serial number was under the painted one
Finally found something that removes the 60 year old enamel from the nameplate
Yashicaflex A-II Box
Six decades of dirt and moisture = corrosion… Big Time!
Over the next few months (turns out 14 months) I hope to be able to document my attempt to “restore” my 1955 Yashima Yashicaflex A-II. I have years of experience in cleaning and adjusting TLRs and SLRs, but I’ve never attempted a complete restoration on this scale. So why the Yashicaflex? Well it’s relatively common (especially in Japan), not necessarily a historic camera in terms of Yashima’s history, and it was in really bad physical condition overall. So why not? It was purchased from a seller located in Hiroshima, Japan, and if you know anything about Japan, Hiroshima is in the very hot and humid southern part of Honshu. When it arrived, I had to pry the camera away from the leather case as the two had become welded to one another. It must have been trapped in that case for years. The leather case with the felt liner did a good job of holding the moisture against the aluminum body of the camera hence the super bad pitting and overall corrosion. The leatherette covering on the camera was so brittle it just fell away in some areas but has stayed super stuck in others. I’ve had little success so far in removing it. So sit back and enjoy my “interpretive restoration” of this vintage Yashica. The good news… even with all the corrosion the lenses appear to be fungus and mold free! The lenses were made by Tomioka Optical for Yashima and somehow managed to avoid the ravages of moisture. The shutter works well, the aperture blades are clean and snappy and the focus is sharp. The reflex mirror was original and it looks terrible. I ordered a new one custom cut to fit. This camera will be a “user” so I will appreciate a clear view and sharp focus.
July 2014… my first look at what I would be up against!
My first look at this disaster! Pretty nasty!
Yep… lots of dirt!
Nasty… nasty… nasty!
Slow progress being made. Some of the paint removers did nothing to the 60 year old paint!
‘Simple Green’ did nothing! A total of nearly 6 hours of soaking and a stiff scrubbing… not even a hint of paint removed.
More parts to clean. Keeping track of all the removed screws and what-nots will be critical.
The major assemblies removed from the body. Lower right (blue thingy) is the new custom cut mirror
Close-up view of the camera back showing the radical pitting of the aluminum body.
Serial number painted on and the original factory black enamel peeling off.
A collection of some interesting Yashima / Yashica box tops…
These are scanned from the original presentation and shipping boxes. Also known as inner and outer boxes. These boxes were made with high quality materials and for the most part have held up well for 50 years or more.
Yashica LM 1957
Yashicaflex model C 1956
Yashicaflex model A-II 1955
Yashica 44 1958
Yashicaflex model S 1955
Yashica model A 1964
Yashica LM Outer Box 1957
Earliest Pentamatic US Sales Brochure
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
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.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 