Serial Number: Cam0208
Type:
Camera
Manufacturer:
Wheeling (Illinois) Chicago Area
Country of Origin:
Durham, NC
Production Period:
1912
Approximate Price:
Reference:
Status: Display
Description:
The Bell and Howell company was created in 1907 by two American projectionists , Donald Joseph Bell and Albert Summers Howell, and the former s wife, Marguerite V. Bell. Their goal is to manufacture all kinds of devices relating to the cinema, relying on the inventive capacities of Howell and the commercial qualities of the Bell couple. They begin by innovating in the field they know well Howell designs a cylindrical shutter for projection devices. These are equipped from the beginnings of cinema with a moving disc shutter . The cylindrical shutter ensures a targeted ventilation of the film which thus better resists the violent heat released by the arc lampused to cover the ever-increasing dimensions of projection screens . Then he launches a film perforator because the firm of George Eastman , which produces the flexible film necessary for the cinema, delivers it in unperforated rolls. However, the 8 rectangular perforations imagined by Thomas Edison to create the 35 mm format which has recently been adopted by filmmakers around the world, are often made by buyers on DIY machines. Howell, as a projectionist, knew of all the projection incidents caused by these imprecise punches. His perforator is essential in the world of cinema.
The Bell Howell 2709
In 1912, after an unfortunate experience of building light cameras out of leather, when most cameras of the time were made of wood (therefore relatively heavy), Bell Howell presented an all-metal (aluminum) model, equipped with all the latest known improvements. Weighing only 7 kilos, the 2709 (exactly 2709 B ) is practical for the many trips from one natural setting to another, which new scenarios and the progressive appearance of feature films require . 2709 would be a reference to the number of mechanisms that the company produces at the time of the launch of its latest mechanical design. It is equipped with an adjustable shutter (the exposure timecan be modified according to the subject being filmed, more or less fast), the frame-by-frame drive of the film is done by a traditional cam claw . The novelty is the reinforced immobilization of the film when the exposure of each photogram takes place . A counter-claw is introduced into the perforations, stabilizing the film vertically it withdraws just before the feed dog advances the film. This immobilization is completed by the presser which delicately holds the film in the corridor, leading the film on its way. At the time of exposure, this presser is firmly pressed against the film, thus ensuring perfect flatness of the photosensitive surface this pinching is interrupted just before the feed dog advances the film one step. Framing is done using a clear viewfinder , as in most cameras of those years, and an internal viewfinder additionally allows framing control through the shooting window . This convenience can only be done when the camera 1 is stopped . The 2709became the camera most requested by American filmmakers. It will be so until the launch of the Mitchell , which will offer the same advantages combined with better handling (1919).
