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Herman DeVry, Pioneer of A-V David Donaldson

I knew the DeVry name from the elegant embossing of a single spool for 16mm film.
Occasionally, we all must have seen references to DeVry camera gear. Important as the
manufacturing company was, there was much more. My interest was provoked by a small
booklet published by DeVry, ‘Free Films Source Directory’.

In the International Motion Picture Almanac for 1949-50, DeVry Corporation in Chicago is
listed principally as a Theatre Equipment and Materials manufacturer. Two small entries
further: Manufacturers of 16mm projectors (fourteen were listed, including the veteran Victor
Animatograph Corp of Davenport, Iowa) and Libraries of Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures
(about 300 listed).

An American Success

Herman DeVry emigrated from Germany in 1885
as a nine year old and was educated in the US
public schools. In 1894, he operated Lumiere
machines in a penny arcade in Kansas City. In
1900, at the Omaha Exposition, he saw a factual
film ‘The Battle of Manila’, in which the American
hero Dewey took the Philippines from the
Spanish. From bicycle repairs in Denver, he moved
to Tulsa where as an electrician he presented
“illusions in light”.

The DeVry 16mm Sound on Disc
Ciné-Tone projector – a highly
sought after collectable.
Original price (1930) $250.00