Grahame N's Web Pages


AMERICAN
KEYSTONE

9.5MM
CINE PROJECTORS

from Grahame L. Newnham B.Sc.


Keystone Manufacturing Company
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

(Possibly no UK Importer?)

 

The American Keystone Manufacturing Company seems to have been founded in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, around 1919, to build 'moving picture machines' etc., with $20,000 capital by Edward M. Swartz, J.M. Welsman, Isidore Marks and Benjamin Marks. (The Marks family already ran a neighbouring toy company in Boston). By March 1920 the Keystone Manufacturing Company had moved from 101 Albany Street to 53 Wareham Street, Boston. During the 1920s, they had merged with another couple of Boston based toy companies (Marks and Joslin).

The first venture into cine equipment by the Keystone Manufacturing Company of Boston, was during the 1920s when they manufactured a simple 35mm tin-plate cine projector known as the "Moviegraph".


1920s Keystone Moviegragh 35mm tin-plate 'toy' cine projector

There certainly was also a range of simple tin-plate 16mm Keystone "Moviegraph" cine projectors marketed in the USA, probably in the late 1920s or early 1930s. These seem somewhat similar to the 9.5mm Keystone "Supreme" models marketed in the UK during the early 1930s. I have two examples of the 9.5mm Keystone "Supreme" cine projectors, but I notice that somewhere I had mentioned 'at least three models were marketed in the UK during the 1930s'. Wish I could find my references now!

At leat I think we can be sure that Keystone didn't produce any 9.5mm cine cameras!

But they did supply cine projector oil in the 1930s!

Later in the 1930s and into the 1940s and 1950s, Keystone produced a good number of 8mm and 16mm machines, including a 16mm talkie projector. As these didn't include 9.5mm versions, then I'll leave later Keystone products out of this page.

I believe the Keystone Company suffered financial failure in the early 1960s. Japenese products had mostly taken over Ameruican and European production!



American Keystone advert - 1930s I guess

The 'Universal" or "De-Luxe' models advertised above look quite similar to the 9.5mm Supreme 948/2 model described lower down this page.


9.5MM KEYSTONE SUPREME 925/2 CINE PROJECTOR (1930?)

Maybe the first cine projector from Keystone. A simple hand-turned machine offered in versions for the 9.5mm and probably 16mm film sizes.

These Keystone cine projectors, don't seem to have been marketed in the UK, but I found my example here, and it is clearly marked 230 volts - I believe the USA has mostly had 110 volt mains electicity supplies, so these may have been made for UK sale.

My example has an original American standard two-pin mains plug, fitted with a UK mains bayonet socket adaptor. Lighting is by mains voltage E.S. lamp. But I am beginning to really think a few were imported into the UK. More information needed!


Keystone Supreme model 925/2 hand-turned 9.5mm cine projector;
we can confirm the model number on the projector lamphouse & the original cardboard box


9.5mm Keystone Supreme 925/2 hand-turned cine projector
(I wonder if they also made a 16mm model?)

A simple hand-turned cine projector with twin claw and barrel shutter, taking the 9.5mm closed cassettes of 30ft or 60ft of film, being taken-up on a fixed spool. The cassette holder, (detachable for packing), has a little handle for rewinding the films back into the cassettes. In the USA the Pathex 9.5mm printed films were supplied in the same design little metal 30ft and 60ft cassettes. 'Home movies' were also returned in the 30ft metal cassettes after processing. The large lever at the side of the film gate actually moves the gate mask up and down for framing - what a luxury for what is really just a toy cine projector!

I guess the larger roller above the lens is intended to direct the film for rewinding. The E.S. (large Ediswan Screw) lamp holder takes a mains voltage lamp - the 60 watt example fitted gives a poor picture. I have tried a modern LED lamp, but the lampholder will need some adjusting vertically for this to be effective - more tests continue!


9.5mm Keystone Supreme 925/2 hand-turned cine projector - lamphouse cover off


9.5MM KEYSTONE SUPREME E-948/2 CINE PROJECTOR (1939?)

Probably the second 9.5mm cine projector from Keystone. I have the date of 1939, but this may be a little late - the date appears elsewhere in a glossy catalogue book and other web-sites - but they have probably taken the date from my earlier web-site! I need to find a useful contempory advertisement - Meccano Magazine here we come!

The Keystone Supreme E-949/2 was a much better design - hand-turned, but also in a motorised version. Sprocket feed and take-up. The barrel shutter and double claw cam pull-down seem similar to the previous Supreme 925/2 model, but the lamphouse, still with E.S. thread mains voltage lamp has an extra inner metal lining to reduce the heat on the outer casing. The gate retains the framing lever. An interesting addition is the three colour filter - this can be set to give red, green or blue tinting to the film being projected - sadly leading to even more light loss though!

It takes up to 300/400foot / 100/120 metre 9.5mm spools, but still retains the adaptor for the 9.5mm metal 30ft & 60 ft closed cassettes. I wonder if the machine was supplied with a 9.5mm take-up film spool? So maybe there are some Keystone 9.5mm film spools out there to find!

The design seems the same as the 16mm "De-Luxe" model in the American advertisement at the top of this page. These models mention a 135 watt mains voltage lamp, but the spec. plate on my E-948/2 model clearly states '2 amps' - so maybe the lamp could be maybe 400 or 500 watts? A bit warm for convection cooling! I have curently just fitted a 100watt 240 volt E.S. base lamp to my example. Still a quite poor picture! With a non-relieved film gate I doubt if it will ever be used for showing decent 9.5mm film prints!


9.5mm Keystone Supreme E-948/2 cine projector


Luckily the Keystone products seem to have decent (and useful) name plates!


Luckily my E-948/2 example came in its original box with the instructions!

The model number printed on the instruction booklet is 'E-948/2' - I wonder if the E stands for 'England' ?



 




Instruction booklet for the 9.5mm Keystone Supreme E-948/2 cine projector


I have been trying to identify those spools used in the above instruction booklet. Similar to, but not Cyldon; Actina imported other similar spools from France, but again different. The plot thickens - can you help? These 9.5mm spools are certainly not like those 16mm ones from Keystone - see top-of-page American 16mm advert.


I would be most grateful for any extra details or information about Keystone 9.5mm movie equipment! !

©Grahame L. Newnham - 15Oct2017.


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Created 15Oct2017 .......... Last updated: 07 May 2018 ............ 95gearkeystone.htm ............ © Grahame L. Newnham's web pages MMXV11