|
Author
|
Topic: Harpenden Wrap Up
|
Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008
|
posted September 12, 2011 11:58 PM
Well the first info to report is that there is now a Pathescope VOX in California....
Sunday was the final day of the get together and the best day of the bunch.
It all started around 11am with the opening of the doors to the dealers room..I have moaned many times about how jealous I am of the UK collectors who have the film fairs to go to, and now that I went to this with just a handful of dealers, I am only MORE jealous..So much stuff for sale, completely reasonable prices, and everyone is extremely nice...All I can say is I hope the UK collectors enjoy and appreciate what they have, because I sure did for the one day I experienced it....
The sales went quick, then it was off to the screening room for a presentation of the film Italian Straw Hat on 9.5 w/ a wonderful soundtrack thanks to John Ferrari. The film was introduced by Kevin Brownlow who gave an overview of his life and how 9.5 film has impacted it positively.
After the screening was the auction which was a lot of fun, although this was where most people missed David Erskine, as this was his usual stage. The auction had its ups and downs with some things going quickly for very low or "no" prices and others taking some counter bidding to acquire...The highlights were the battling Graham Sinden did to win the Pathe Europe...I talked to him earlier in the day and he said the only way he would play more 9.5 films is if he got one of the newer projectors like a Europe........I feel like I acquired the diamond in the rough...It was a little pricey at 85 GBP but I bought a "tinted" 9.5 film LOT containing THE 3 X 300FT Arabian Nights (1921)and 5 x 300ft Metropolis (1927)...The key things that made this a diamond in the rough is a)the print has running titles which I believe most Metropolis's do not. b) It is tinted which no one I spoke to at the event said they had ever heard of a tinted Metropolis, and c) this is absolutely the best conditioned 9.5 print I now have in my collection. Whoever owned this print took extremely good care of it over the years. ..
After the auction is was dinner time again.. My wife Sherra and I got to spend dinner Keith and Sue Cockayne who could not have been nicer...Keith is one of my better 9.5 friends and it was great to finally meet face to face...One note if you need any weird little part for a 9.5 projector you should look him up, he is just like Wartin used to be, with spare parts for every machine...
The rest of the group was also as nice as anyone could be, the list of people I finally met face to face and spent time with is numerous, and I can't thank them all enough especially Grahame Newnham, Grahame and Pat Murray and many many others...I got to meet some folks I have communicated with for years like Christopher Bird, or have idolized for years like Ken Valentine.
Group 9.5 is a major inspiration in my life and will continue to be. I may never be able to convince my wife to fly over to the UK again for one of the get togethers, but I hope somehow I can contribute to the group and give back a tiny bit of what I have received from them....
One of the pics is a pile of all the stuff I brought back including the VOX...The key to bringing it back was to take it as my carry on since it weighed 25kg (55 lbs) by itself. Now it is in my home and will be up n running soon I hope....
OK since I have been up for about 24 hours I think it is time to sleep and watch movies later in the week...
[ September 14, 2011, 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Dino Everette ]
--------------------
"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
