The exciting hobby of collecting

CINEMATOGRAPHICA

SUMMARY

Collecting vintage movie equipment is a neglected area amongst those interested in movies, photographica and memorabilia. It appears that amongst the millions of movie fans few are interested in the equipment with which in former days the magic of the screen was created.

Older people will still remember the thrill of seeing movies projected in their small local cinemas often filled with the foul smell of smoke and beer.

Home movies were even a greater delight. Films were rented and projected on primitive home-projectors in 8, 9.5, 16, or 35mm size. The fun reached its climax when movies of members of the family were projected on the silver screen.

Taking one's own films in pre-war days was a costly affair usually reserved for the rich and privileged. Yet, there were enough people who did it on a shoestring, even going so far as to build their own projectors, which cost in those days sometimes a year's salary.

All this once coveted equipment can now be had for moderate prices. Demand is increasing and so are prices, especially for rare and wooden cameras. But prices are still lower than similar vintage photo cameras. Not so long ago one could pick up old movie equipment at flea-markets, but that time seems passed now.

Collectors are a breed apart. Many of them are retired from their jobs and have found a new fullfilment in their remaining years. I, myself, have been born in 1929, so figure out how young I am !. Our hobby makes life enjoyable. We meet people who we otherwise would never have come into contact with. Do not know what boredom is. We need all our time to study, tinker with new acquisitions, or project old movies.
Bièvres, France, annual photographica market

Collectors have an excellent excuse to make a trip to another one of their species, or a fleamarket. They come to know each other and so feel part of a fraternity.

Not everyone has collector's blood. Those who have may be envied. They have something that keeps them alive, strengthening the roots with the past that comes dearer and dearer as the years pass by. Their interests activates them to study and keep alive their manual skills. In short it is an excellent way to keep one young at heart and mind even at an older age. Nowadays, being confined to home and boredom because of the pandemic it is precious to have have some kind of diversion.

Internet has proved to be a great boost to collecting. One can buy a great variety of apparatus thru internet auctions like Ebay, or at some specialised auctions (see my Links page) . By email I came into contact with collectors all over the world with whom I could exchange information.

Collectors may be divided in three main classes. Those who collect:

Movie equipment (see below).
Films, which remind them of the good old days when life was less complicated and a different kind of society seemed to exist. Some films rekindle memories of childhood. In the old movie houses youngsters forgot for a fleeting moment the harshness of the world outside.

During a matinee they would laugh their heads off or identify with heroes in their fearless battles. In the years of depression the products of the dream factories lifted the crowds out of their misery, leaving behind pictures of an ideal world. Such nostalgia becomes the soil for the urge to collect the films that brought joy.
Amateur films are a category apart. Although most people filmed their family and holidays, some were inspired to record what went on in the streets of their cities. Their films have become of particular interest nowadays as they contain street- and human interest scenes that are hardly to be found in professional documentaries and newsreels of that era.
Some museums collect them. In Holland the 'Eye' film museum is one of them. Some collectors have films digitalised and upload them to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook or other internet sites (see my videos here.
Movie memorabilia. Posters, stills, old books and magazines on movie stars, etc etc.

I, myself, collect vintage movie equipment and documentary and amateur movies picturing the world in olden times. I belong to the breed of collectors who are attracted by the sheer workmanship hardly to be found in mass produced apparatus nowadays, and to the hunt for scarce pieces of equipment. Below I am giving a link to my list of more than 3000 cinematographica apparatus. Far too much for any collector or museum to display. Therefore one has to make a choice.

Some aficionados collect only projectors which remind them of the home cinema.
Cameras are better suited to those who shy away from the bulkiness of projectors. They often concentrate on the cameras home movies were taken with - preferably those they couldn't once afford.
Vintage professional equipment for those who have the money and room. They may cast an eye on: a Mitchell camera, or a Edison projector, to name a few well-known makes. Some go so far as to collect cinema projectors.
Toy projectors. Usually in combination with magic lanterns.
The size may also be decisive: 8,16, or 35mm. In my case I concentrate also on off-sized cameras and projectors (read my article 'One hundred years of film sizes') such as 9,5, 17,5, 22 and 28mm.
A collection may be built around a former famous make, such as: Paillard Bolex, Pathé, or Bell & Howell.
History - milestones in the development of movie apparatus, or a specific era one grew up in.

Concentrating on special themes has the advantage of keeping the collection within limits.
If you are looking for a neglected section choose slide projectors. Hardly anyone collects them, so they are going cheap. Some magic lanterns on the other hand are scarce and costly.

An odd thing about collecting is: which cameras/projectors are most desirable and therefore more costly ? It appears that a human psychological phenomenon is at work here: people tend to collect apparatus which they have seen in other people's collections. There are some items everyone likes to have: a Pathé Baby projector, although hundreds of thousands have been made and of the Pathé cameras as well. The Midas cameraprojector is also much wanted, but it is far more expensive than its counterpart: the Campro. There are countless other items which are rare but attract little interest as noone else has them and are not recognised. In other collectors' areas, a similar change of interest, as the years go by, is known. A thorough knowledge and experience is of great importance in discovering rare items.

Giant List of some 3000 vintage movie cameras,
projectors etc. with their date of manufacture.(click here)

At this stage I should like to introduce myself as a Dutch collector of cinematographica.

Click for some views of my collection

Collecting areas:

Rare equipment in practically all sizes: 4.75, 8, 9.5, 11.5, 16, 17.5, 22, 28 and 35mm. Films, in the rarer gauges and Spiral discs. Also travel, documentary and amateur films showing the world many decades ago, for making video clips for my 350,000 subscribers (and 100 million views).

I also have a list of 300 items: movie cameras, projectors, accessories in 8, 9.5, 16, 22, 28 and 35mm, and many books I have to clear for lack of space. Please email for a list, specifying your interests, and what size, to: manandu@NOSPAMxs4all.nl , but first delete the word NOSPAM from the address.

FURTHER INFORMATION

I am receiving many messages from readers from all over the world who have something for sale, are looking for an item, or who search for information on an apparatus they have. Please bear in mind that my time is limited and that I am living in the Netherlands. I have tried to answer most questions beforehand on my FAQ and other pages. Do not send a message to me for info already supplied on this site.

Click for a list of addresses of dealers who supply lamps, parts, and manuals. In another list I give the links to collecting sites in many countries, as well of musea and auctions.

Click for my "Want" list of items I am still looking for. But bear in mind that I only buy rare apparatus.

Before sending a query have a look at my 'Frequently Asked Questions' page and at my list of some 3000 vintage cameras and projectors.

For responses email to: manandu@NOSPAMxs4all.nl but delete the word NOSPAM from the address first. PLease mention the subject of your enquiry in the heading, otherwise I may mistake it for spam.

You are invited to read my article: One Hundred years of Film Sizes
and: Who invented motion pictures? , of film historian Tjitte de Vries.

Before sending a query to me please have a look first at my FAQ page where you may find answers to your questions immediately.