Share
Clip description
Amateur filmmaker Frank Straford demonstrates his father’s original brown leather 1920s Pathé Baby 9.5mm camera and tripod. He contrasts the distinctive sprocket holes of 9.5mm with 16mm film and displays the cassettes the film came in.
Curator’s notes
Frank Straford mentions that his father, Vivien, had to operate the camera and tripod with his left arm. Vivien Straford lost his right arm while serving in France during the First World War. Nevertheless, he persisted with his home-movie hobby and recorded his family life on film during the 1920s and 1930s (see Vivien Straford 1927–1937).
Frank and his brother John followed in their father’s footsteps and themselves became enthusiastic movie makers. The brothers bought their own motorised Pathé 9.5mm camera on which they filmed their earliest works before moving to the 16mm format.
