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DeVry had numerous early jobs
including salesman for hairdress-
ing equipment and sporting goods
supplies, bicycle repairman and
electrician. He also operated one of
the first Lumière projectors to
come to the USA (1894) and de-
signed and built stage illusions for
magicians, including Thurston’s
‘The Flying Lady’ mystery act. In
1908 DeVry designed and attempt-
ed to fly the first plane in Oklaho-
ma.

In 1910 Herman DeVry became a
cameraman for the Rothacker Cor-
poration in Chicago, and during his
Pic. 7. Herman DeVry with his first hand cranked
spare time began work on his
dream of the world’s first truly portable 35 mm motion picture projector, or ‘Theatre in
a Suitcase’ as he christened it. While developing the portable prototype, DeVry also
worked as a news cameraman for Pathé, Universal and others. From his home basement
laboratory he started to perfect the compact lightweight projector and then formed the
DeVry Corporation to put it into production. Early versions were hand cranked but an
electric motor drive was soon added. The very small, easily carried machine became
popular, being employed in schools for visual education, in industry for training and by
salesmen etc.
Pic. 8. A DeVry 35 mm ‘Suitcase’ projector showing the first in-flight
movie in 1921. From: ‘Aerial Age’ 22 Aug 1921. The DeVry portable
also has the claim it
was the first airborne
movie projector,
showing the first ‘in-
flight’ movie. This
occurred during the
1921 Chicago ‘Pag-
eant of Progress’ ex-
hibition. The 1000 ft
film was titled ‘How-
dy Chicago’, pro-
duced by the
Rothacker Film Co,
much of it probably
shot by Herman
DeVry.

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