Projector

This is a Keystone A-82 projector from the early 1940s. This model was made in Boston and features a crinkled enamel paint finish. It was either inherited from my great grandparents Doris and Lutz (short for Ludwig), or my grandfather purchased it at some point.

It sat in a moldy cellar closet for 50+ years unused. There is a mummified house centipede on part of the velvet interior of the case that I am leaving there for posterity. When I first took it out, I plugged it in and was amazed to find it turned on. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to run properly.

With the help of the Harvard Film Equipment Room staff, Sam and Will, I took it apart, cleaned off the components, and reassembled it. To our collective amazement, it worked and was able to project a clear image of a Harvard student film from the 1960s. It smoked a bit, but after cleaning the lightbulb and running it a few times, it even stopped smoking.

Later, I returned to my grandmother’s house to search for 16mm film reels. I found multiple cans labeled with my grandfathers’ childhood home address (Brayton Road in Scarsdale, Westchester) and other cans with labels like “Judy’s Fifth Birthday” – sadly, many of the reels are vinegared so must only be played to digitize the videos and only by a professional film conservator. My family will do this after the exhibition is over.

I am pleased to say that one video from my grandfather’s early adolescence, likely the mid-1930s, is in good enough condition to play. It shows Henry walking in his parents’ garden with his sister Louise, my great aunt, who passed away recently. They look at flowers and he picks one and puts it in her hair. It is a gorgeous video, likely filmed by my great grandfather Lutz. I first screened it on the projector for Judy and my aunt and uncle (Mim and Eric) in Judy’s bedroom, a video of which can be seen on this page.