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Bell and Howell were one of the main producers of cine equipment for the amateur market and this advertisement promotes their 8mm cameras as compact and easy to use. It shows a couple out sailing, while the voice-over asserts that their camera "fits easily into a handbag". Amateur cinematography began on a significant scale with the launch of 16mm by Eastman Kodak and Bell and Howell in 1923 and developed throughout the following decades. The hobby was more commonly taken up by affluent families who could afford the expensive equipment and film stock, and some indication of the social background of a typical amateur film-maker can be found in the fictitious families shown in this commercial. Suggested Reading: Patricia Zimmerman, Reel Families: A Social History of Amateur Film. The Northern Region Film and Television Archive holds a number of good collections of amateur film made using similar cameras to this one dating from the 1930s to the late 1980s (and also a camera of the model shown in this commercial). Other major amateur film holdings in the NRFTA cover life and work from around the region, such as 'Redcar for Holidays' (1936). |
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