couple of very old photos from Japan

[ampguy]

Last week I scanned these photos that my wife had (Epson v100, 1200dpi to jpg). I'm curious if anyone might be able to guess what lens or camera/lens might have been used.

The dates would be sometime in the late '30s, early '40s pre-war for the girl and her mother, and mid '60s for group photo.

Taken either in Tokyo, or within ~100km.

I'm amazed at the condition of them, they weren't stored in any special way.

 

[dave lackey]

Last week I scanned these photos that my wife had (Epson v100, 1200dpi to jpg). I'm curious if anyone might be able to guess what lens or camera/lens might have been used.

The dates would be sometime in the late '30s, early '40s pre-war for the girl and her mother, and mid '60s for group photo.

Taken either in Tokyo, or within ~100km.

I'm amazed at the condition of them, they weren't stored in any special way.

VERY nice...any idea what paper they were printed on?

BTW, great job scanning...😀

 

[ampguy]

Thanks Dave

Thanks Dave

I never thought about the paper, but the next time I get the photos out, I'll take a look on the back for any logos or identifiers.

VERY nice...any idea what paper they were printed on?

BTW, great job scanning...😀

 

[retnull]

Amazing photos. Second one is perfect, really: composition + tones + smooth detail + maybe even "3d effect"...

 

[ampguy]

Thanks!

Thanks!

The photographer was a prominent one in Tokyo, and since, his family is still in the business and has had the opportunity to photograph the royal family and Japanese celebrities, and still owns a photo business a couple of hours outside of Tokyo.

Amazing photos. Second one is perfect, really: composition + tones + smooth detail + maybe even "3d effect"...

 

[venchka]

Measure the prints. I'm guessing these are contact prints. The print size should be a clue to the film size and then the camera/lens might be narrowed down. In the meantime, my guess is a 6x9 folder. Also, the various plate formats were and still are popular in Japan. More reason to measure the images. The various fractional plate sizes are well known.

 

[RayPA]

Ted, do you remember the approximate size of the prints? My first thought was 6x9 as well. Beautiful images, especially the shot of the woman and child.


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