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Deftly threading the projector, which
he had played with for some 20 years
since his father gave it to him, John
closed the gate and poked the leader
into the take-up reel and shut the lid.
Flicking the switch at the rear resulted
in a loud roar as the projector sprang
to life, followed a few seconds later by
a bright beam of light when he threw
the second switch. (Pic. 3.)
The image, once focussed and framed,
was incredibly bright and rock
steady….I was impressed. It was
showing a sales film that contained Pic. 3. The Large 1920s 110 volt globe approx.
footage of a Model T climbing a very 220 watts appears non-original. Electric motor be-
steep mountain, over rocks and crevic- neath.
es. The subtitles each had the Ford logo
on them…Henry had his own film unit and put it to good use. John Shingler then said
‘Now, watch this!’ pulling a
Below: Pic. 4. Rheostat pull rod to adjust the motor speed. vertical rod out of the projec-
tor top. The machine
screamed like a vacuum
cleaner out of control and the
picture sped up.
It was a rheostat control for
the motor voltage. (Pic. 4.)
As the silent black and white
film came to an end, hot,
sweet-smelling air was blow-
ing out of various orifices. All
in all it was a memorable
spectacle and an entertaining
start to the day.
REEL DEALS March 2018 21