Japan 1949 – Subminiature – 17.5 mm – Rare.
Konishiroku is one of Japan’s oldest photographic companies, tracing back to 1873, even older than Kodak that officially started in 1881. It was started by pharmacist, Rokusaburo Sugiura, who started selling photographic items out of the largest pharmacy in Tokyo.
After World War II, Konishiroku was well known for its Konica brand of cameras.
The Snappy is a high-quality subminiature camera designed and sold in 1949. It has a distinctively trapezoidal-shaped body very similar to that of the Exakta. Despite its reduced dimensions (less than 6 om) the Snappy incorporates features normally seen in the 35mm cameras of its time, including interchangeable lenses via a screw mount and a winding lever on the back that advances the film and cocks the shutter.
Unlike most of the other subminiature cameras (typically the Hit type) the Snappy was considered a real camera and was sold at the camera counter and came with a system of extra lenses. It is said that given its quality, the Snappy was typically used by the police.
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Snappy – 29/99”