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1935 Picny
1947-sILVER
A redesigned copy of the 1932 German Wirgin Gewirette, the 1935 viewfinder Picny, made by Miyagawa Seisakusho, takes 16 24x36 exposures on 127 film and was distributed through Mitsukoshi department stores (A Japanese version of Sear & Roebuck). The Picny Anastigmat 40mm f4.5 lens and proprietary shutter are mounted on a helical tube and focus is achieved by turning the tab, similar to a Leica lens of the time. Another similarity to the leica is film loading via a removable top plate (actually opposite the Leica with bottom loading). The back has a large screw in the middle that moves the pressure plate back and forth for easier film loading. The screw hole was probably used to set the infinity focusing during assembly or repair, another similarity to early Leicas.... Our example, serial #214, is the earliest example recorded and has at least one minor difference from later versions, there is no screw thread on the left side round disk on the top plate to store a 20mm filter.  A rare and well made Nickel and black camera that inspired yet another Japanese manufacturer to copy this design, the Gelto by Toa Koki, or Takahashi Kogaku.