Contax LR44 Holder

A brilliant idea, andy certainly a more useful accessory than many OEM items I'm used to seeing. I'd have to agree on it potentially being a costly item for it's assigned task, but this is what I'd consider a prestige item and one isn't likely to forget the brand associated with it. Every time you'd need it, you'll get the reminder that 'someone' cared enough to help you get and stay prepared to keep on shooting. There's a lot of goodwill embodied in this gem that goes beyond the function.

I've had any number of camera gadgets over a lifetime, and many have dealt with carrying batteries and protecting them from damage, discharge, shorting out each other, etc., and this one is simple, small, and likely to be the best kind overall... where it's inches away when needed.

I truly wasn't expecting to find this, but it looks like there was also an official Yashica holder, but this one is for the 4LR44 types. It splits in half and holds one battery, and will slip over a standard 10mm neck strap to stay within easy reach.



Before finding this, I used milled watertight aluminum canisters to hold single or multiple batteries with attached split rings...

Now that you mention the multiple branding opportunities, it makes perfect sense that the 4LR44 holders could have been offered from several top tier makers at roughly the same time, and were manufactured under contract by the same 3rd party vendor. Yashica had the AX using that battery type in 1972, and later C/Y mount bodies like the FX-1, then the RTS, FR/FR-I, had them as well... and in 1977/78, the Canon A series cameras all used them. I assume there were lots of others too.

I'm very familiar with how plastic injection molding works, and how molds are made, and I've seen branding inserts doing exactly what you've described being used in a large number of molds for all kinds of parts, and in quite a range of sizes. There are also multi-cavity molds that can have several different makers marks on duplicated but functionally identical parts that are lined up in a single mold, and all are injected and formed at the same time. Essentially you can have 16 cavities, with 8 Canon parts and 8 Yashica parts being made on the same machine. That could also mean 4 Canon fronts, 4 Yashica fronts, and 8 common rear sections, so that you'd make all the needed pieces for eventual final assembly at the same time in the same mold.

These Yasica holders were made in 2 piece molds, since there's a single parting line on each piece, and given their small size I could imagine it would be possible to have one or two machine producing 1000-2000 individual pieces per hour. They'd be really cheap to make, but there'd be a substantial upfront cost in making molds and rigging all the sprues and water lines and cavities and ejector pins. Sharing that cost between several company brands makes a lot of sense too.

The other part of the question would be... where and in what fashion these were intended to be distributed? I've only purchased one Yashica setup new - based on the FR-I - and sadly I don't remember everything that came inside the boxes. I purchased a body, a winder, and three lenses on the same order, but all I distinctly remember about how it was all packaged, was that there were separate boxes for each item. I do remember getting a strap and sets of caps on everything, but that's about it.

I presume there were prepackaged kits at the time that may have contained the body and the ML 50mm 1.4 as a paired unit and packaged as a proper 'camera kit' that included a holder, but they weren't shown on any lists I'd seen prior to ordering, and frankly, it wouldn't have mattered to me at the time anyway. Now, it would have (from a collector's standpoint), but back then I was only eager to get everything I wanted and have it arrive safely and in working order, and not wondering what extra bundled items I may or may not have gotten.

The flipside to it is if these weren't generally  included accessories, were they orderable items, or just some kind of promotional goodies? They'd make great trade show freebies, and would certainly be cost effective for that purpose. Likewise for dealer promotions and in-store giveaway items, with the same bang for the buck.