Everyone welcome to answer here, including those who have never posted on this forum. How long have you been in the hobby of film collecting? Even if you have just started, let us know. It would be nice to know that new people are coming into the hobby. :-)

For me, I guess it’s been about five years (according to my eBay account). :-)

I got my first projector in February 2014. I still have it, and it was an Eumig 810D.

But I grew up with my family's old silent Standard/Super 8 projector. We mostly viewed family films, but I did have a few cartoons in the late 80s. And I still have all of those :-) We still view the family films on the projector from time to time even though they are digitized by now. Great moments!

I returned to the hobby in late 2014. I was a collector from 1986 to 1990. Other priorities sidelined the hobby and I wound up selling my film collection in 1995. As a teen I briefly collected films for about a year. Before returning to the hobby in 2014, I lived it vicariously through film forums and collecting old film catalogs and brochures.

I have only been collecting 16mm and Super 8 since 2015. I had rented 16mm projectors and films from our library prior to that for occasional film shows for our family when the kids were young. In 2015, I won a Singer projector for $21 at a local auction and then started to add films. I currently use Eiki and Elmo's for 16mm and Elmo's for Super 8.

Myself, started 1977, but sold off for VHS early 80’s. Got back in October/November 2012. Found back the magic of the reel thing

I had my first projector at Christmas 1946. It was a new 9.5mm Hunter hand-turned projector, sold by R.F.Hunter, and based on the Bingoscope. Films were in very short supply in those days but my Grandmother and myself found a second-hand "Tenth Olympiad", a record of the 1932 Olympic games in Los Angeles. The shop was Bristol Cine Services, in Clifton, Bristol.

The projector was bought from H. Salanson of Bristol who had libraries in 8mm, 9.5mm silent & sound, 16mm silent & sound. However, when my father, who worked in Small Street, Bristol, quite near the shop in Castle Mill Street, tried to join their 9.5mm silent library (for me) he was refused as the projector did not have sprockets. He complained that they had been quite happy to sell him the projector.

Later, we found Whitehall Cine Services in a Bristol suburb who were quite happy to hire out films at 1/6 per reel.

So that I could join their 16mm silent library I later traded in the Hunter for a Kodascope C. With this I was at last able to become a member of the Salanson library.

http://www.pathefilm.uk/95gear/95gearbin...rbingoscope.htm

Maurice,

Truly amazing! 72+ years (and counting) in the hobby...
It would be fascinating for all of us to hear more of your experiences. I hope you will consider sharing these, I really do...

My Brother joined the hobby around 1970 with a Eumig p8 sts 8 silent and the 50ft silent b/w excerpt from shenendoah called The Defiant Virginian.
He then moved onto sound movies in 1974/5 with his Eumig 810D and the 400ft version of stagecoach and the 200ft excerpt in b/w of one million years BC. Those were our first two sound movies..
I then joined the hobby in 1979 and bought my trusty 1200HD M and O which i still use today along with all the other machines ive aquired.
Niether of us have ever left the hobby. Indeed ii did venture into 16mm 20 years ago but did get rid of it all except my eiki when my Daughter was born. As many of you know i am well and truely back into 16mm three years ago and am now enjoying botg gauges as we are in our 45th year of collecting.i myself in the 40th year.

I really liked reading each and every one of you guys' responses!

Wow. Now I feel older. I got my first 8mm projector when I was 8 years old from my grandfather. Back then there weren't a whole lot of places to find films other than garage sales. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that the internet arrived.By most film sales were still done by mail. Now I'm 44 and it is much easier to find films so I'd have to say I've been collecting for 20 years online but longer with what I could find offline.

I bought my first projector in 1978 on my 18th Birthday, I had to wait until then as the old HP agreements stated that you had to be at least 18, but I still had to have Dad co-sign as a guarantor, it was from Dixon's and a Chinnon 7500 was my first projector, which I used for many years after that.

I tip my hat to Maurice, I have spoken to him a few times and he has a world of knowledge when it comes to films and collecting, it's always a pleasure.

Myself, I started back in the 60's with a Casdon standard 8mm projector (I didn't know it was standard 8 at the time) and a pile of 50' silent shorts, my parents didn't like me using it because it interfered with the TV , however in the late 70's I purchased a Cinerex SU200 , what a bag of Spanners that was, then got a Eumig and loved that, sold all my collection to Derek in 97 and rejoined the Faith back in 2006, last year I started collecting 16mm for the first and am quite enjoying that too, however it is a world apart from dealing with super 8mm.

Thank you, Greg. Here are some following details:-

I enjoyed the 16mm silent library who had shorts and features, none of which were edited as per Pathescope's 9.5mm films. However, there were virtually no sources of 16mm silent films for purchase to start a collection. There was Walton Films who originally started selling 2" slides with 35mm colour frames of various features in the UK which they obviously photographed themselves. They then went into films with very much the same type scenes.

I had taken the Amateur Cine World magazine from the Spring 1946 issue, the mags were much smaller than the pre-war issues. They were fascinating reading, all the lovely things for sale far beyond the reach of an 11-year-old. From 1947 they went to monthly. Soon, adverts were appearing from various cine manufacturers who had been producing materials for use during the war, the ads promised that enthusiasts would be able to buy new cine items again very soon. One such advert was from Specto. The problem was it would cost £37.10s.0d. A fortune. However I earned 15/- per week as a paper-boy and there would be the 16mm Kodascope for a trade-in. So I saved as much as I could.

It was probably around 1950 they I eventually owned a NEW projector. It had sprockets! Now I could join Salanson's 9.5mm library. The Specto is a wonderful projector, so kind to ageing 9.5mm films. (I've still got one but using an updated lamp and separate transformer.) The 9.5mm films opened up a new world. Metropolis, The Spy, Siegfried, Drama On The Matterhorn, Blackmail, The Blue Light. The big bonus was that you could purchase Pathescope films outright, £2.10.0. for a 300ft reel.

Much later I bought a soundhead and an amplifier. Now I could run sound films. But it was not really successful. Being a silent projector it was never designed to run at a much faster speed, and boy, was it noisy!

I was now 16 in the summer of 1951. Time for exams. The old School Certificate had just been replaced by the General Certificate Of Education (GCE). It was very different. To get a School Certificate you had to pass in five subjects, at least. With the new GCE you could pass in each subject and get a Certificate for each. I wanted to be a cinema projectionist so was accepted by Circuits Management Association, the Rank arm who controlled the Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. I was 17 on 27th December 1951 and the following week started work at Bristol's prime centre Odeon Cinema, it was relatively new, having been opened in July 1938 with 1,945 seats. It was the usual Odeon, being built on a corner (it's still there) and was on the site of the demolished Frys Chocolate factory.

I do hope I am not being boring. Please let me know if you want to hear about 12 months of joy before Her Majesty requested my services in the R.A.F.

I started drewling with this issue of Movie Maker.

Maurice,

We would very much like you to continue with more of your story....

So, in early January 1952 at the age of 17 I became a trainee projectionist at the Bristol Odeon, an occupation which lasted 50 years. (My last job was at the Odeon, Weston-super-Mare in 2002.)
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24268

There were six of us on the projection staff working on a rota basis as Rank required two projectionists to be always on duty, although one didn't have to be in the projection room all the time but had to be within calling distance. I worked a five-day week from 10am to 10pm each day with three hours off for meals. First thing on arrival was to go to the downstairs switch room to collect any films which had arrived during the night. Next, a complete walk round the cinema to check for any non working lamps, replacing as necessary. Then clean the two projectors. These were BTH Supas, this stood for single unit projection assembly.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevp/3395483234

The two projectors ensured that everything needed was within the two of them. One had the contactors, the other the amplifier. Even the BTH logo concealed the monitor speaker. The high intensity arcs ran at 50 volts / 75 amps, this giving 3750 watts! In all the succeeding years I never met two things they had; automatic carbon strike, and picture/sound changeover by a single button push. The only extra items were the arc rectifiers in a separate room. There were two other items, both Robert Rigby carbon arc slide lanterns, an old one used for 3.5" slides, and a very new effects lantern. This latter unit had an adjustable lens tube so that two functions could be achieved, a follow spot and a slide lantern. The spot was used with the four ice-cream girls, and the slide lantern was used when the trailers were running by projecting white titles on the bottom of the black masking of the screen. These were "Next Sunday for one day only" and "Next Monday for six days".

Safety film had only been around for a few years so the Cinematograph Regulations has to be strictly adhered to as we were still using nitrate on a Sunday. The rewind room used Robert Rigby equipment, two rewinders, cement splicers, and the 20 bin film storage system. There were two different types of film cement used for the two different types of film stock.

The morning of 6 February brought some terrible news. King George VI had died in his sleep. Head office sent instructions, no decorative lighting was to be used, only the usual house lights, and sombre music was to be played. This latter was an immediate problem, we only had 78s of dance music. The Chief operator gave me some money to buy something suitable from a local record shop. They suggested Handel's Largo, this was played regularly for quite a few days.

The advertisement reel was silent for which we played records, the reel never left the cinema, we often received new ads, and also requests to remove some and return them. The ads were only national items, all local Bristol ads were on colour slides.

In my lunch hour I often went to Salansons, and also the News Theatre, both were only a few minutes away.

The year went so quickly. By January 1953 I had been called up for a two-year National Service in the Royal Air Force as a Ground Wireless Mechanic. When fully trained I was sent to Germany where I worked a shift system on Transmitters and Receivers, this shift system allowed me to work part-time in the camp's cinema using the GB N model modified to have a carbon arc behind each one.

So,I must be about the fourth oldest collector in the forum! I started collecting in 1959 when I was about 8 years old. My dad bought me a MeOpta Optilux std 8 projector and a few reels,two of those being "Oeil pour Oeil",the Film Office title for "Big Business".I felt very proud when one or two years later we went to the cinema and saw "When Comedy Was King",which included the above,a film I already owned! I stayed for several years with this projector,buying and/or renting a few reels until the big boom in 1972 when the firts Tom and Jerrys appeared in the market. I HAD to have those,so, I bought an Eumig 810 HQS and this was the big start and I haven't stopped since! And,I have been strictly an 8mm addict.

I´m also one of the oldtimers. My parents had an Eumig P8 projector for screening family movies. About 1961 at the age of 7 I bought my first reel. It was a 50ft b/W silent Goofy film (How to play golf). The projector and the film is still in my collection. I continued buying one or two little films every year, all Disney cartoons. About 1964-65 I started collecting money to buy a sound projector and 1969 I bought a Eumig Mark S 709. Now I could start buying sound films in both 8mm formats. My favorites were and still are Disney cartoons and Laurel & Hardy films.
My collecting slowed down in the 80`s. Many dealers had closed their business with films and it was hard to find sources without internet, but I kept the collection. I also bought my first 16mm projectors on a school auction, but I only had two 16mm films to show.
About 2000, thanks to internet, I found out were to buy more films. First Ebay and then I found out that Derann was still in business. I have also bought some collections in Sweden, both 8 and 16mm and even 35mm.
At the age of 65, my collection is bigger then ever. There is also a home cinema in our house. I only screen reel films. I don´t own a digital/video projector.
I love this crazy hobby

Mats, you are a true lover of reel film!

I've been hooked since 1974 started with a Sylvester and Tweety pie cartoon ,techno print which I still have! Now have quite large collection of 8mm and 16mm.

It was strange to see a pair of GB N in an RAF camp cinema. Because N stood for Navy/Naval. As you will see from its compact size it was designed to go through a ship's hatch. They were coupled to German carbon arcs. The films shown were usually over a year old from their UK release.

https://www.avs-hire.com/product-page/g-...inema-projector

Working a shift system meant having every third day off, and even more time off if there were no night flights. This set me thinking for the future. Did I want to be bottled up twelve hours a day working for a low wage when I might get a good day job and do cinema work part-time? It was something to consider.

One great week-end I had a chance to go to an RAF rest centre in the Harz mountains. On the entertainment film night (Johnny Guitar) I was impressed with the 16mm projector. A wartime GB L516.

http://www.villagehallcinemas.co.uk/%23c...mm_9_gbl516.htm

So impressed that I resolved to save to be able to buy one when I was demobbed. Mind you, on 25/- a week it wouldn't be easy!

Come January 1955 I was demobbed, and lined up a job with EMI Electronics as an Electrical Inspector, and perhaps, buy a GB L516!

Maurice,

The links to the photos are much appreciated. Great to see pictures of these old machines to see what you had to work with at the time. The BTH Supa in the earlier post is quite the beast!

Also, I noticed on the Village Hall Cinemas web page that there are some other interesting links worth a look....http://www.villagehallcinemas.co.uk/%23c..._navigation.htm

Greg
Here is an Odeon projection room about the same time I was working with the BTH Supas.
http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/worcester14.jpg

GB L516 projectors had almost disappeared from the market at £285 from newish ex government sources. Now in favour was the range of GB/Bell & Howell equipment introduced in 1948 after a 25 year agreement was made between GB and Bell & Howell in 1946. But the 601 when introduced was £237 new. I visited Salansons looking for a reasonably priced L516, they had nothing to offer. However, a telephone call was received a few weeks later to say that they had a pre-war American Bell & Howell 138 for sale at £78. Did I want it?

Never having heard of a 138 I quickly made a visit to the shop and there it was. The new 601 was virtually the same as its pre-war cousin. A demonstration was arranged and it ran perfectly, so, with the help of the Mum & Dad Bank, plus my accumulated RAF savings I became its new owner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSS3H_hA-M

Wenn Sie hier auf Links zu eBay klicken und einen Kauf tätigen, kann dies dazu führen, dass diese Website eine Provision erhält.

The new Bell & Howell produced great fun for family and friends. I had joined the GB Film Library who hired out their older releases for home showing at £2.10.0. a day. They had countless films from the various British studios controlled by the Rank Organisation, also, they had connections with Universal and their films were also in the catalogue. I then discovered GB Moviepaks on 16mm sound, these were mainly releases from Castle films. They were £7.10.0. to purchase new copies. I soon had a small collection, I just loved Woody Woodpecker, I still do!

A new cine shop had opened in Bristol, Radioscope Film Service. I just had to take a look. In the window at a quite reasonable price was an 8mm outfit. A Kodascope Model 30 projector and a Revere camera. They were soon added to my collection. Now I had all three gauges, and was soon filming in colour.

These two items are at present on eBay so here are the links to see what these two items looked like:-
Werbung: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193004522150
Werbung: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372484261449