Many knowledgeable camera collectors, especially those of the Leica 35mm camera persuasion, know that Leitz had developed and maintained a compendium of some 2000 codewords for the Leica system from its inception in the 1920s until this type of catalog reference listing was replaced by a numerical one in 1960. They were poetic in a sense: 

ABLON, ADFIK, ADVOO, AGRIF, ANZOO, CEYOO, EKURZ, ELANG, ELRIT, FARUX, FIAKU, FIKUS, FILCA, HEKTOR, HESUM, HOOPY, IROOA, ITOOY, KGOON, MOOLY, NOOKY, PEGOO, OKARO, ORAKO, PLOOT, RASAL, ROSOL, RIFLE, SAWOO, SBLOO, SCNOO, VALOO, VOOLA, VIDEO, WINKO, ZOOAN, et. al., and they provided the Leicaphile a secret vocabulary.

It has been reported that in 1934, Charles E. Verschoor, President of the recently formed International Radio Corporation of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was captivated by the Leica camera while on a trip abroad. He reasoned that an inexpensive version manufactured in plastic, while achieving a wide consumer base, (as Universal Camera Corporation was realizing with its UniveX A camera) would also serve to keep the IRC molded-plastic radio cabinet department working during that industry's normal slack periods.

The Argus Model A camera, designed by Verschoor with the assistance of Gustave Fassin of Rochester, N.Y., was announced to the trade in September 1935, "......Inquiries from reputable dealers solicited. (No bargain or cut-rate houses considered)....", and brought forth in May 1936. It sold more than 30,000 units the first few weeks on the market at $12.50! After a time the price dropped to $10.00, the IRC radio patents were sold to RCA, (including an exclusive best seller and the industry's first plastic table model AC-DC radio, the IRC Kadette), the company name changed to International Research Corporation and the rest as they say, is history.

With the advent of Eastman Kodak's Daylight-Loading Cartridge in 1934 serving as a catalyst to a simple design and low cost production, the Argus Model A became for many Americans of the 1930s, a synonym for "candid camera" and gained them entry into 35mm photography in an affordable way. And Charles Verschoor's captivation by Leica was apparently profound. Herewith, are the Leitz-like Argus System Codewords, circa 1939.
 

Sources:

• Glass, Brass, & Chrome: The American 35mm Miniature Camera by Kalton C. Lahue and Joseph A. Bailey, 1972 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK.
• Argus by Jacob Deschin, 1957 Camera Craft Publishing Co, San Francisco, CA.
• The New Photo-Miniature, New Series:No 4, September 1935
• The Camera, Vol LII, Number Five, May 1936 "
• AIM AND SHOOT" Argus Candid Camera Photography International Research Corporation, Ann Arbor, Mich Form Code G1, 1939
• The Kekfoto Collection

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