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9
IRC’s engineers had extensive experience molding Bakelite and took advantage
of this knowledge in designing the body of the Argus. Bakelite allowed the camera body
to be cheaply decorated with a distinct Art Deco flair. Gustave Fassin, an engineer for
IRC, is generally believed to have designed the Argus, though the patent is credited to
Verschoor and makes no mention of Fassin.
The Argus, priced at only $12.50, was a success from its debut in early 1936; IRC
later claimed to have sold 30,000 cameras in the first week alone. Prospects seemed so
promising that Verschoor decided to give up radio manufacturing altogether and sold off
the patent rights for the Kadette to the Radio Corporation of America, also known as
RCA. To reflect this redirection in corporate focus, IRC changed its name from
International Radio Corporation to International Research Corporation.
In 1937, the Argus A was followed by the Argus AF and the Argus B, which were
two variations on the same theme. The AF, at $15.00, had an infinitely adjustable
focusing mount but the same shutter and lenses, while the B, at $25.00, had a higher
quality Prontor II shutter imported from Germany. The B was dropped that same year
because of lack of consumer interest and the AF was withdrawn from production in 1938,
presumably to prepare for the introduction of the A2F.
Riding on the heels of this unparalleled success, IRC introduced other models,
such as the unrelated Argus A3 and Argus C. Also designed by Gustave Fassin, the
Argus C-type camera would become the bread and butter of the Argus line. Nicknamed
“the brick” for its boxy appearance, it would stay in production until 1966—an
unbelievable 28 years! This was a sturdy camera with a coupled rangefinder and a
respectable f/3.5 Cintar lens, and it was IRC’s very successful attempt at entering the
market of medium-cost cameras. Kodak, in response to IRC stealing its market, heavily
modified one of its cameras to compete with the C3. This jury-rigged contraption
became the Kodak 35RF, which still couldn’t match the C3 in either price or features.
To make amateur photography easier, in 1939 IRC introduced the Argus A2B (at
$12.50) and the A2F (at $15.00). These were nearly identical to the Argus A and AF
with only an integral extinction meter and exposure calculator added. With this
“miraculous” device, the user didn’t need a light meter or any knowledge of photography
to take a decent picture. Just look through the meter, add the film speed and lighting
conditions to the calculator, and an assortment of f-stop/shutter speed combinations are
suggested to produce a serviceable picture! The Argus A2F was discontinued in 1941,
probably due to the effort involved in manufacturing the focusing mount. Production of
the A2B, with minor changes, continued until 1950.
To take advantage of the recently invented flashbulb, Verschoor decided to
produce a model of the Argus that could use a flash, thus giving life to the Argus AA in
1940. The Argus A adapted poorly to the addition of a flash, however, as many of the
components of the flash mechanism were carefully assembled by hand. The shutter had
to be completely redesigned and the two-position focus gave way to “fixed focus.” The
lens shrank in size to f/6.3, probably to make room for flash components. This weak
adaptation did not last long, and the AA was dropped in 1942. By then, International
Research Corporation had changed its name to Argus International Industries, Inc. in
order to identify the company with its product.
Then came December 7
th
, 1941. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the
United States began to mobilize for war. It is impossible to underestimate the effect that