Kodak Kodascope Projector (1923 onward)
Kodascope is the name of Eastman Kodak's line of 16mm home film projectors, introduced in 1923 as the projection half of the Ciné-Kodak system. The original Kodascope was sold in an outfit with the Cine-Kodak camera, tripod, projection screen, and film splicer for $335. The idea was to get motion pictures out of theaters and into living rooms. The system ran on non-flammable 16mm acetate safety film, a big selling point over the highly combustible nitrate 35mm stock used commercially.
Documentation on the individual Kodascope models is scattered, but several variants turn up in period collections and auction records. The Kodascope Model A dates to the very early 1920s. The Model B, held in the Science Museum Group collection, is a 16mm silent projector with self-threading. It has an anastigmat projection lens of 2-inch focal length, helical focusing in a sliding mount, a single continuous sprocket with claw intermittent, and a mirror-and-condenser system that lights the gate at a right angle to the lamp. The Model EE is cited as a 1937 model made in Rochester, NY, with adjustable speed and angle. The Kodascope Royal BP-16 appears in a 1939 demonstration video. Later units included the Eight 33, Eight Model 50, EIGHT-71/71A, and Sixteen-20 (a 16mm film projector), plus the sound-capable Pageant GC-7275 and the Analyst II with its 1000-watt bulb.
Collector interest is real but uneven. A Model B with case and manual recently listed around C$608. A Sixteen-20 sold as-is for roughly C$193. A Model D was listed at $5.00. Sellers note common age-related issues, like loose power plugs and worn toggle switches, and often list units "as-is" without guarantees. The Science Museum Group catalogue entry for the Model B is one of the few authoritative technical records of any Kodascope variant.
Known specs (Model B, per Science Museum Group):
- 16mm silent film, self-threading
- Anastigmat projection lens, F: 2 inches
- Helical focusing in sliding mount
- Single continuous sprocket, claw intermittent
- Mirror and condenser lens system lights gate at right angle to lamp
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