輸出向け日本製ブラス・モデルを紹介するプレスアイゼンバーン（現エリエイ）発行のモノクロ写真集。ほとんどはアメリカ型だが、わずかに欧州型も掲載される。第1巻は1982年までのクマタ製品をほぼ網羅し、第2巻は安達、アカネ、フジヤマ、ゴー、コダマ、鉄道模型社、トビー、ユナイテッド、協同等をサンプル的に夫々紹介する。前者は出版元に長らく在庫があったが2010年初頭に売り切れを確認、後者は当初より希覯本となっていた。両書の冒頭にある熊田晴一氏による解説は当時の業界事情を伝えていて貴重。この2冊に出てこない天賞堂は「Tenshodo Book」、カツミについては「ルミネ街の汽車」がお薦め。
なお本書は、アメリカではウォルサーズ社を通じて販売され、右は同社HOカタログ1987年版p677でKumataからの出稿（クリックで拡大）。MR誌での書評は、第1巻が1983年5月号p112、第2巻が87年6月号p128に掲載された。下は"とれいん"誌での発売を伝える広告で、第1巻が1983年3月号p60、第2巻が1987年2月号p109。「第2巻は現在品切れ中」との文言が同誌1988年4月号p103の第1巻広告中に現われる。
Volume 1, Kumata Products, Presse Eisenbahn 1982, 230 pages
熊田晴一氏による序文の和訳が「米国型鉄道模型とモダンジャズ」にある。掲載モデルはクマタ貿易が収蔵していたサンプルという。
| ■ About The Art Of Brass . . . Down through history Man has miniaturized their means of transportation as toys to delight their young. Yet none had ever gained the wide popularity as did model trains which made their appearance soon after the Age of Railroads was born. Old-fashioned toys were swept aside in favor of replicas of these incredible "locomotives," the newly-coined word meaning "a machine with the ability to move place to place." That a conveyance had been invented that no longer needed pulling was a startling advance in transportation. And if children marveled at seeing tiny trains move − driven by some unseen power, no less fascinated were the men who had made them. Thus a new hobby to delight both child and adult took root − the world of model trains. This new hobby grew through the pioneering efforts of the first manufacturers. In the United States every enthusiast certainly know each train model made by the Lionel Corporation as well as those created by American Flyer. In Germany, the Marklin Corporation had similar fansc; Soon the trains of other model makers began appearing and, as the clouds of World War II were forming, a model in a new scale − HO − was introduced. It was a precise scaling down of one foot to 3.5 millimeters − to one eighty-seventh the size of existing trains, a reduction from the standard track gauge of four feet and eight and half inches to just sixteen and a half millimeters − truly an amazing shrinkage into the land of Lilliput! And once World War II was over, HO-scale train models became the preferred size, capturing the hearts of enthusiasts everywhere. Another post-war development occurred − the emergence of Japan both as a market for and, later, as an exporter of model trains. There had been an eager band of Japanese model rail enthusiasts in pre-war times and their numbers now had increased. They were − and still are − the largest group of model lovers in all of Asia. Some even made model trains and hobbyists among the occupation forces began purchasing them, their amazement at discovering such fine workmanship perhaps not unlike the astonishment of Marco Polo on first glimpsing the wonders of Asia. That the Japanese made their own model trains should not have been surprising. They were experienced with miniaturization, having long produced tiny ornaments as well as western-type toys for export. And a new market seemed to be in the making for, judging from sales to these foreign enthusiasts now in their midst, certain manufacturers decided that their model trains might prove to be a profitable export. Just how profitable was not realized in the early fifties when the first overseas orders began trickling in. Yet the demand grew dramatically. Today these exporters can look back with pride knowing that hundreds of thousands of their brass rolling stock are greatly treasured by hobbyists in the United States, Australia, the countries of Western Europe and in other nations of the world. Kumata & Company Limited − the firm selected for this first volume on brass model trains − was one of these enterprising manufacturers. Hobbyists everywhere value the quality of their products and the rich variety of their stock. Their K.M.T. label is found on models ranging from large electric locomotives in 0-scale that extend to two feet to Rail Speeders in HO-scale that are less than two inches! Their various model trains number over a thousand and continues to mount. Two factories under direct management and their designated sub-contractors are full-filling orders at an output averaging one item every two weeks! Rail models no longer produced are collectors' items, commanding prohibitive prices whenever they can be found. | In this book are found these rare pieces as well as the many other outstanding brass rail models bearing the famed K.M.T. label. Each photograph is clearly identified and is accompanied by its pertinent manufacturing data. For this we are indebted to Kumata & Company Limited for their unstinting cooperation in bringing this first volume of The Art of Brass to fruition. We strongly hope that this book will be welcomed by all model rail lovers. It is certain to enrich the lives of those intimately involved with this tiny world of precision − the model retailers, hobbyists and collectors wherever they may live. As publishers, however, we do have one concern. The glorious model trains contained herein may stir certain readers into pursuing their hobby of collecting even more vigorously. But if this brings them pleasure, then we plead guilty. ■ About the author . . . Mr. Seichi Kumata − the President of Kumata & Company Limited − is a businessman, a successful one in the highly competitive world of model train manu-facturing. And while we know that success requires a unique blend of intelligence and the ability to make sound judgements, it does not harm to be reared in a family where business has been an ever-present part of its ancestry. In Mr. Kumata's case, all three factors are more than fulfilled. He comes from a long line of able Tokyo merchants who have dealt in textiles for over sixty years. And the family tradition survives for a division of Kumata and Company Limited still deals in textiles. His interest in the model rail industry can be traced back to his boyhood when model trains became an abiding passion. And, once an adult, it seems like fate took over the ordering of his future for his first job on graduating from the Tokyo University of Commerce was in the toy department of a large exporting firm. From there to becoming the owner of a model rail manufacturing concern was a series of logical progressions. Coming to know the export trade, he left to establish himself and in 1950 began exporting model trains produced by the New One Manufacturing Company. With time, he also began handling the products of other makers and, to insure the quality of what he sold, he ultimately went into the field of manufacturing. To train lovers everywhere the name of Kumata & Companay Limited and their famed K.M.T. label need no introduction. Those unfamiliar with their products have only to leaf through this book. Here are found the unique trains models that they have created, all under the guidance of one man's capable hand. But apart from this visual proof of Mr. Kumata's talent in the realm of business, this book has another surprise in store − his talent as a writer, this ample revealed in the engaging Preface he has written that introduces this book! It takes the form of a memoir of his life in the World of Model Trains. It is the straightforward story of a businessman who works with a will to achieve success. Yet in the telling −when things look their darkest, we can detect the author's optimism and enjoy his unfailing sense of humor. Brief though it may be, it is a pleasure to read. What a pity that the pressure of business has prevented Mr. Kumata's literary talent from blossoming until now. Let us hope that he soon takes up the pen again. この文の和訳が「米国型鉄道模型とモダンジャズ」にある。諸般の事情と内容から松本謙一氏の筆になると推察される。 |
Volume 2, Presse Eisenbahn 1986, 256 pages
Adachi, Akane, Endo, Fujiyama, G.O., Jonan, Kawai, Kodama, Kyodo, Microcast-Mizuno, Nakamura, Nippon Alps, Olympia, Orion, Sugiyama, Tetsudomokeisha, Toby, Toho, Tsubomi, United (Atlas), Fomras, Fuji, Imai, Mochizuki, Nozawa, Nakayama, Pioneer, Sakatsu, Sakura, Sato, Sano, Takada, Takumi, Tamac
熊田晴一氏による序文の和訳が「米国型鉄道模型とモダンジャズ」にある。平井憲太郎氏によると、掲載モデルのほとんどは松本謙一氏所蔵品という。
Rewritten in July 2018