Category Archives: history

give her a hand!

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The August, 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine has the article shown here. An image of a human hand was blown up about 52 diameters from the original on a 35mm negative. Years ago in Montreal, our company enlarged … Continue reading →

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will do anything to get a sale

Posted on May 10, 2022 by Robert

Toronto, The August, 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics ran an advertisement for a camera called the “Midget Marvel”. It was offered for less than $9 American including the leather case. Some different cameras used the same name, so I am … Continue reading →

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Canadian female photographer from BC

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Do you remember Ms Agnes Deans Cameron? No? Well, she was a prominent photographer out west, known for her work as a  “teacher, journalist, explorer, writer, lecturer & photographer”. You can learn more about this wonderful lady at the … Continue reading →

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variations on a theme

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the early 1900s, Butcher in London, England sold a “Royal Mail Camera” that used multiple lenses to create as many as 15 postage stamp size images on one small  plate. The July, 1934 issue of Popular Mechanics has … Continue reading →

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stills from movies

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. A few years ago, at our PHSC monthly meetings (when we met in person – ie pre-COVID) my good friend Ed Warner took videos of each presentation and could easily snap stills without affecting the digital video he was … Continue reading →

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do you remember these two characters?

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Movies used lots of stills taken by various professional photographers. In the fall of 1929, a photograph of Stan and Ollie graced the cover of the magazine, “American Cinematographer”. Taken months before the fall and published just before the … Continue reading →

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bridging the gap

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto.  The site, Rare Historical Photos, shows these photos of the Capilano Suspension Bridge around 1900. The site heading says, “These vintage photographs capture people crossing the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, 1890-1910”.  These photographs are both vintage and … Continue reading →

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checking shutter sync a half century plus ago

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the dying days of WW2, an article was printed in Popular Mechanics showing an impromptu way to ‘test’ a shutter – flash synchronization. The February, 1945 issue suggests photographing a flash bulb with caution and slow film to … Continue reading →

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keeping an eye out

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Ahhh! The roaring twenties. What a great time to be alive (according to the movies). Radio was invented a few years earlier, automobiles had been around for a couple of decades, aircraft were experimental, movies were silent, TV not … Continue reading →

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sky high amusement 1930s style

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. This pictorial courtesy of the Illustrated London News in 1930 shows the inside of a transcontinental aircraft – very cramped unlike today’s wide bodied aircraft – and the use of an amateur projector to show movies while flying over … Continue reading →

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