8mm Forum: The Keystone Story

This is topic The Keystone Story in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Chris Smart (Member # 7022) on August 28, 2019, 11:59 AM:

While searching for answers to my Keystone 109D Projector problems I found this fascinating booklet that someone scanned into a PDF.

File name is Keystone_Story.1953.pdf
http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-coll/manuals/movie/Keystone_Story.1953.pdf

Just thought I'd share!

The factory depicted in the brochure still stands in Boston but was converted into apartments years ago. Its currently a seniors home.
https://goo.gl/maps/oEouCpto8x7XQdQq7

Posted by Janice Glesser (Member # 2758) on August 28, 2019, 02:41 PM:

Thanks for posting Chris [Smile]

Have seen that brochure before and it is a great piece of history. Good luck with your Keystone K109 and I hope you get it up and running soon.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on August 28, 2019, 02:49 PM:

Wow, what a great read Chris, thanks so much for posting this.
As much as being of great interest to us cine fans, I think this is also a wonderful reflection of the state and vibrancy of America's manufacturing base during the 1950's. Here we read of the pride that Keystone had in their home movie products, all designed, manufactured, assembled, and tested by the working people of post war Boston. You can tell that they were very confident about the future of their company and looking forward to being a big pert of an expanding market. And don't those all metal cameras and projectors look wonderful? Just look at all the jobs involved here, all providing these great men and women a means to support a nice house and family in the Boston area. No robots in sight, no computer aided design, all done with pencil and paper on a drafting board.
I'm sure it was the same story at Bell & Howell in Chicago at this time.
Sadly, the Japanese and European manufacturer's were poised to capture the future engineering prizes and much of the world market in the home movie equipment.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on August 29, 2019, 02:53 AM:

Don't forget that Bell & Howell eventually went to Japan for their projectors to be manufactured, and at the last, even had Eiki projectors badged as Bell & Howell.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on August 29, 2019, 09:54 AM:

You have to wonder why American companies eventually lost all their expertise, competitive edge, and markets to the Japanese. After all, companies like Bell & Howell were the Rolls Royce of movie equipment at one time. They had to be stste of the art in the 1950's and must have been very well positioned to embrace new technology like magnetic sound, automatic cameras, and the new super 8mm. What happened?

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on August 29, 2019, 11:00 AM:

I assume that, at the time, labour costs were much lower in Japan - now even they have had to move manufacturing out.

Posted by Chris Smart (Member # 7022) on September 20, 2019, 09:46 AM:

Found another PDF but this one is the Keystone Catalog from 1939

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-coll/manuals/movie/Keystone%20Catalog%201939.pdf

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on September 20, 2019, 10:31 AM:

Did Keystone ever make a sound projector?

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on September 20, 2019, 07:09 PM:

https://imgur.com/gallery/jiXJWeo
https://imgur.com/mRuYWXu
https://imgur.com/2qaNbLR

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on September 22, 2019, 08:09 AM:

Thanks for those links Trev, that first one looks like my grandfather's 16mm hand crank "toy" projector. I can see how he was able to afford one on a coal miner's salary [Smile]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on September 22, 2019, 08:50 AM:

My wife found a Keystone R8 machine in a rummage sale. It's a beautiful thing and as a piece of decoration it's the only projector that's out even when major company arrives.

-still the same, I had to see if it worked. I did a little cleaning, did a little judicious lubrication, powered it up and within 20 seconds was fully up to speed and ready for action.

I realize it's not spectacular where capability is concerned, but there's a lot to be said for simplicity!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on September 22, 2019, 10:47 AM:

Paul,
"You have to wonder why American companies eventually lost all their expertise, competitive edge, and markets to the Japanese. After all, companies like Bell & Howell were the Rolls Royce of movie equipment at one time".

It's the same here Paul. It was too easy to send everything abroad to be made as it was cheaper. This country has lost British Steel, (how can they still call it British?), Rolls Royce, the finest car in the world, just to mention two all now gone into over seas hands. I remember in the 80s people use to say that this country will become the toilet cleaners and waiters of Europe, & we'r pretty much there now.

Was there a British Projector manufacturer after all, according to wiki, the inventor of the very first one was British?

This link may be of interest, many of you would have already seen this page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_projector

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on September 22, 2019, 11:20 AM:

I don't know about 8mm but Kalee was a 35mm projector manufacturer.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on September 23, 2019, 02:53 AM:

The later bronze Kalee 35mm projectors were brilliant pieces of equipment. I really enjoyed my time working with them.
Only one drawback, Kalee hadn't realised a masking change would be later required when CinemaScope came in. The whole rear gate plate containing the film frame slid completely out for cleaning. This involved opening the gate, however the bottom of the gate contained a bracket to hold the film on the intermittent sprocket. Thus, when changing an already laced film, it lost its racking.
We got round this when a CinemaScope trailer was included in the trailer reel by doing a nifty changeover to the second projector which was already prepared for 'scope.
Great days. [Big Grin]

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8188572/gaumont-kalee-gk21-35mm-cinema-projector-cine-projector

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