Camera Craniums: The Photography Community for Enthusiasts

I spent a happy hour examining this yesterday so thought I'd share it with our forum:

(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10222/normal_old_cinema_projector.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=13275&fullsize=1)

I believe it was used to show films during WW2 and probably wasn't new then. It is hand operated, and illuminated by a gas burner. It appears to take 35mm wide film but probably with closer spaced sprocket holes than 35mm still camera films, and it also has provision for showing individual slides of various sizes. On turning the handle it all appeared to run beautifully - if only I had some film to try it with!

A gas burner? - Do you mean like the miners acetylene lamp or was it connected to a mains supply some how  :o  ;) - Looks like a wonderful invention.  :tup: any idea of date Simon ?

It looks like a magic lantern converted to film. It should have a name plate on it to find the maker?  ;D

You can almost read the maker's name "Hepworth & Co" in the photo. Various smaller fittings have different names. The gas burner is at the bottom of the photo but a little cropped - I hadn't realised what it was at the time I took the pic. It has two separate gas pipe connectors feeding to a nozzle. We later found some spare things which I took to be a type of mantle which would fit in front of the nozzle. I've no clue where the gas would have come from and I did wonder about an oxy-acetlyene thing like old bicycle lamps but there's no sign of that. There's still a lot to figure out. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity for a longer look sometime.

Some infomation on Hepworth & Co.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Hepworth   :tup: