KUNIHIKO IWADARE & RELATED FAMILY - NINE RARE PHOTOS in SILK ALBUM - JAPAN 1933

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

THE IWADARE FAMILY - May 1933. Nine Rare Photographs.NINE EXQUISITE BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS of the IWADARE FAMILY. Each photograph is printed on its own leaf (i.e. there is nothing on the backside) and is covered by a tissue guard. The tissue guards are printed with the names and birthdates of those in the photographs.Hardcover Album with Patterned Silk Covered Boards bound with metal eyelets and silk cords, printed rice paper label framed in gilt on the front cover, gilt speckled endpapers, 8.5" x 12" oblong,Condition: The first tissue guard has a couple creases, else NEAR FINE - all the photographs are bright, clean, sharp, brilliant; the album is beautiful.VERY SCARCE - I have never seen another copy.About KUNIHIKO IWADARE (from Wikipedia):******Kunihiko Iwadare (岩垂邦彦 1857 - 1941) was a Japanese businessman and considered one of the fathers of the economic modernization of Japan. A graduate of the Imperial College of Engineering (Kobu Daigaku) in Tokyo, he worked as a telegraph engineer for the Japanese government. He left Japan in 1886 and traveled to New York. He was introduced to Charles Batchelor, an assistant of Thomas Edison. Iwadare was then hired to work for Edison in Manhattan at Goerck Street. Iwadare returned to Japan, hoping to participate in building the electrical industry in Japan. He first joined Osaka Dento (Osaka Electric Lamp Company) as an electrical engineer, and after eight years resigned from his post to start his own business in association with General Electric and Western Electric companies. In 1895 Western Electric wished to expand their telephone equipment sales business in Japan and proposed a limited partnership with Iwadare. Iwadare accepted the proposal and a new firm was created in August, 1898. The limited partnership between Iwadare and Western Electric created in 1898 was restructured into the joint stock company, Nippon Electric Co. Ltd. in 1899. Iwadare was named Managing Director of what is now known as NEC (aka Nippon Electric Co.) Corporation. He became Chairman of the Board in 1926.****** About IWADARE and NEC (from Wikipedia): ******Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda established Nippon Electric Limited Partnership on August 31, 1898 by using facilities that they had bought from Miyoshi Electrical Manufacturing Company. Iwadare acted as the representative partner; Maeda handled company sales. Western Electric, which had an interest in the Japanese phone market, was represented by Walter Tenney Carleton. Carleton was also responsible for the renovation of the Miyoshi facilities. It was agreed that the partnership would be reorganized as a joint-stock company when treaty would allow it. On July 17, 1899 the revised treaty between Japan and the United States went into effect. Nippon Electric Company, Limited was organized the same day with Western Electric Company to become the first Japanese joint-venture with foreign capital. Iwadare was named managing director. Ernest Clement and Carleton were named as directors. Maeda and Mototeru Fujii were assigned to be auditors. Iwadare, Maeda and Carleton handled the overall management. The company started with the production, sales and maintenance of telephones and switches. NEC modernized the production facilities with the construction of the Mita Plant in 1901 at Mita Shikokumachi. It was completed in December 1902. The Japanese Ministry of Communications adopted a new technology in 1903: the common battery switchboard supplied by NEC. The common battery switchboards powered the subscriber phone, eliminating the need for a permanent magnet generator in each subscriber's phone. The switchboards were initially imported, but were manufactured locally by 1909. NEC started exporting telephone sets to China in 1904. In 1905, Iwadare visited Western Electric in the U.S. to see their management and production control. On his return to Japan he discontinued the "oyakata" system of sub-contracting and replaced it with a new system where managers and employees were all direct employees of the company. Ineffici... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.