BELL & HOWELL Model 57 FILMO PROJECTOR

BELL & HOWELL Model 57 FILMO PROJECTOR

Donald Bell and Albert Howell fist met in 1905 at the Crary Machine Works in Chicago. That was to be a long and successful partnership. Involvement in the non-standard film gauges meant that the collaboration had a full order book. The Filmo 57 first appeared in 1923 through to 1931. It is a pedestal mounted projector with adjustable tilt by a central pivot. It has friction speed control but no adjustable gate mask to allow framing. It has a pre-focus lamp, a lever for opening film gate and manual rewinding by a geared crank on the feed arm. One drawback is the pivot. After much wear it does not hold the tilt secure. Another is the closeness of the sprockets to the lens mount. Nevertheless a revolutionary projector for its time. It has a 2inch lens and a 500w. lamp.

Bell & Howell, Chicago/Great Britain

1923

Donation/Curzon cinema

16mm silent

79