Archive of advertising and photographs for portable 35mm film projectors

New York: International Projector Corporation, 1931. Archive consisting of an original sales brochure and eleven photographs for portable Acme-Simplex 35mm film projectors, from 1931.

The Simplex projector line was one of the most popular US brands from the silent era until the transition to digital projection in the 1990s. Portable projectors were available in both silent and sound formats, and in the 1930s were still marketed primarily as an educational tool for institutional use, for schools, prisons, hospitals, churches, travel agencies, and the like. Projector technology would rapidly accelerate throughout the ensuing decades, reaching a peak in the postwar period, when personal projector use would hit an all-time high.

Included in the archive is a 22 page sales brochure, photo-illustrated throughout, containing in-depth descriptions of the projectors offered for sale by International Projector Corporation in 1931, as well as several pages describing the projectors' utility in a variety of fields, with an emphasis on education and social welfare. Also included are eleven photographs, capturing both internal and external product images of two models in the Acme-Simplex line, including one shot of the projector booth at a Capitol Theatre (as designated in manuscript pencil annotation to the verso of the photograph).

Brochure Near Fine in stapled wrappers, faintly toned.

Ten photographs 8 x 10 inches, one photograph 8 x 6 inches. Generally Very Good plus, with some light toning and brief edgewear.