Pathé Baby projector, France, 1930s.

Details

Société Pathé Frères is the name given to the companies created by the Pathé brothers dedicated to the film industry in France. The Pathé brothers were responsible for popularising cinema with inventions such as this home projector. The Pathé Baby, from 1922, is a 9.5 mm film projector, the first for exclusively domestic use; a simple, robust, easy-to-use and affordable device that became very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The operation of the device can be summarised in three simple steps: inserting the film, turning on the bulb, focusing the projection and turning the crank. The Pathé Baby allows the projection of films contained in small or large format metal reels, i.e. about 10 and 20 metres long. A small electric motor was later added to eliminate the tedious task of turning the crank by hand. When equipped with the ‘Super Baby’ device, it is possible to project for about 20 minutes consecutively, using films about 100 metres long.

(one unit available)