Difference between revisions of "Prestwich"
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| − | The '''Prestwich Manufacturing Company''' of Tottenham (London) made cine cameras, and made several basic innovations in them. The company was founded by John Alfred Prestwich (1874-1952) in 1890, according to the BFI,<ref>[http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/organisation/44710 Prestwich company listing] at the [http://www.bfi.org.uk/ British Film Institute].</ref> or 1895 according to the London Project.<ref>[http://londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk/view/business/?id=731 Prestwich company listing] at [http://londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk/ The London Project].</ref> | + | The '''Prestwich Manufacturing Company''' of Tottenham (London) made cine cameras, and made several basic innovations in them. The company was founded by John Alfred Prestwich (1874-1952) in 1890, according to the BFI,<ref>[http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/organisation/44710 Prestwich company listing] at the [http://www.bfi.org.uk/ British Film Institute].</ref> or 1895 according to the London Project.<ref>[http://londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk/view/business/?id=731 Prestwich company listing] at [http://londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk/ The London Project].</ref> Prestwich was an engineer, and held patents for a number of inventions, not limited to cinematography. |
Prestwich's Model 4 was the first cine camera to have detachable film magazines;<ref name=NMM>[http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Collection/Cinematography/MotionPictureEquipment/CollectionItem.aspx?id=1930-754 Prestwich Model 4] cine camera at the [http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/ National Media Museum], Bradford, UK.</ref> an auction listing at Westlicht also states that it was the first to have interchangeable ''lenses''.<ref name=W>[http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=2418585&_ssl=off#2418585 Prestwich Model 4], serial no. 208, dated to 1898, with Dallmeyer two- and three-inch lenses. The camera was owned by Gaumont and supposed to have been used to film the funeral of Queen Victoria and the 1908 Olympic Games. Offered at the [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=2402233&acat=2402233&lang=3 November 2012 Westlicht Photographica Auction] in Vienna.</ref> In the Model 5 camera, the film magazines are enclosed inside the body.<ref>[https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=20183&_ssl=off#20183 Prestwich Model 5], serial no. 1390, dated to 1900, with a Cooke Cinema two-inch f/3.5 lens, sold at the [https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=18900&acat=18900&lang=3 May 2004 Westlicht auction].</ref> Albert Steeman's ''International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers'' states that Frank Hurley used a Prestwich camera on Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica in 1914.<ref>[http://www.cinematographers.nl/CAMERAS1.html Classic motion picture cameras A-P] at Albert Steeman's [http://www.cinematographers.nl/default.html International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers].</ref> | Prestwich's Model 4 was the first cine camera to have detachable film magazines;<ref name=NMM>[http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Collection/Cinematography/MotionPictureEquipment/CollectionItem.aspx?id=1930-754 Prestwich Model 4] cine camera at the [http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/ National Media Museum], Bradford, UK.</ref> an auction listing at Westlicht also states that it was the first to have interchangeable ''lenses''.<ref name=W>[http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=2418585&_ssl=off#2418585 Prestwich Model 4], serial no. 208, dated to 1898, with Dallmeyer two- and three-inch lenses. The camera was owned by Gaumont and supposed to have been used to film the funeral of Queen Victoria and the 1908 Olympic Games. Offered at the [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=2402233&acat=2402233&lang=3 November 2012 Westlicht Photographica Auction] in Vienna.</ref> In the Model 5 camera, the film magazines are enclosed inside the body.<ref>[https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?f=popup&id=20183&_ssl=off#20183 Prestwich Model 5], serial no. 1390, dated to 1900, with a Cooke Cinema two-inch f/3.5 lens, sold at the [https://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=18900&acat=18900&lang=3 May 2004 Westlicht auction].</ref> Albert Steeman's ''International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers'' states that Frank Hurley used a Prestwich camera on Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica in 1914.<ref>[http://www.cinematographers.nl/CAMERAS1.html Classic motion picture cameras A-P] at Albert Steeman's [http://www.cinematographers.nl/default.html International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers].</ref> | ||
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
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| + | ==Links== | ||
| + | Patents held by J.A. Prestwich, at [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/?locale=en_EP Espacenet], the patent search facility of the European Patent Office: | ||
| + | * [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=189422609A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=18951012&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 22609 of 1894], ''An improved tripod stand''. | ||
| + | * [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=189617224A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=18970724&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 17224 of 1896], ''Means for taking and reproducing kinetoscopic pictures'', granted to J.A. Prestwich and photographer William Friese-Greene; the patent describes the mechanism by which the film feed and uptake drums rotate continuously, while the length of film between them is slack, and fed in fixed steps, either for exposure in a camera or for projection. | ||
| + | * [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=189817831A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=18990624&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 17831 of 1898], ''Improvements in apparatus for animated photography and optical projection'', describing improvements to the same mechanism. Also the corresponding [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=US&NR=627526A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=18990627&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP US Patent 627526], ''Film-actuating machanism for kinetoscopic apparatus''. | ||
| + | * [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190007668A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19010425&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 7668 of 1900] ''Improvements in kinematographic apparatus''. The patent describes three basic improvements in projectors: (i) a mechanism to adjust the register between the film frame and the projection gate; (ii) a mechanism to allow the film to be run backwards (i.e. reversed in time); and (iii) a mechanism to protect the film from the lamp's heat in the event that the film feed stops, comprising an air-pump connected to the projector motor, which feeds air to a cylinder in the projector, where it holds up a piston attached to a shutter in front of the lamp, so that if the motor stops, the shutter closes automatically. | ||
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Revision as of 12:51, 26 October 2012
This article is a stub. You can help Camera-wiki.org by expanding it.
The Prestwich Manufacturing Company of Tottenham (London) made cine cameras, and made several basic innovations in them. The company was founded by John Alfred Prestwich (1874-1952) in 1890, according to the BFI,[1] or 1895 according to the London Project.[2] Prestwich was an engineer, and held patents for a number of inventions, not limited to cinematography.
Prestwich's Model 4 was the first cine camera to have detachable film magazines;[3] an auction listing at Westlicht also states that it was the first to have interchangeable lenses.[4] In the Model 5 camera, the film magazines are enclosed inside the body.[5] Albert Steeman's International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers states that Frank Hurley used a Prestwich camera on Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica in 1914.[6]
The Prestwich company made a number of films itself, including documentary films of great events in London. These include a controversial film of the launching of a battleship, HMS Albion, at which the wave created by the launching led to the drowning of many spectators.[7] The company also distributed other films.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Prestwich company listing at the British Film Institute.
- ↑ Prestwich company listing at The London Project.
- ↑ Prestwich Model 4 cine camera at the National Media Museum, Bradford, UK.
- ↑ Prestwich Model 4, serial no. 208, dated to 1898, with Dallmeyer two- and three-inch lenses. The camera was owned by Gaumont and supposed to have been used to film the funeral of Queen Victoria and the 1908 Olympic Games. Offered at the November 2012 Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna.
- ↑ Prestwich Model 5, serial no. 1390, dated to 1900, with a Cooke Cinema two-inch f/3.5 lens, sold at the May 2004 Westlicht auction.
- ↑ Classic motion picture cameras A-P at Albert Steeman's International Encyclopedia of Cinematographers.
- ↑ The Launch of HMS Albion at Blackwall (1898) at BFI Screenonline.
- ↑ Prestwich company listing at IMDb
Links
Patents held by J.A. Prestwich, at Espacenet, the patent search facility of the European Patent Office:
- British Patent 22609 of 1894, An improved tripod stand.
- British Patent 17224 of 1896, Means for taking and reproducing kinetoscopic pictures, granted to J.A. Prestwich and photographer William Friese-Greene; the patent describes the mechanism by which the film feed and uptake drums rotate continuously, while the length of film between them is slack, and fed in fixed steps, either for exposure in a camera or for projection.
- British Patent 17831 of 1898, Improvements in apparatus for animated photography and optical projection, describing improvements to the same mechanism. Also the corresponding US Patent 627526, Film-actuating machanism for kinetoscopic apparatus.
- British Patent 7668 of 1900 Improvements in kinematographic apparatus. The patent describes three basic improvements in projectors: (i) a mechanism to adjust the register between the film frame and the projection gate; (ii) a mechanism to allow the film to be run backwards (i.e. reversed in time); and (iii) a mechanism to protect the film from the lamp's heat in the event that the film feed stops, comprising an air-pump connected to the projector motor, which feeds air to a cylinder in the projector, where it holds up a piston attached to a shutter in front of the lamp, so that if the motor stops, the shutter closes automatically.
