ABSTRACT
Hand cranks have been used to produce moving images since the earliest pre-cinematic devices, such as in mechanical kaleidoscopic magic lantern slides (chromotropes), since at least 1713. Their use in film projectors declined gradually during the 1910s and 1920s because of motor-driven projection. On cameras, their use decreased with the spread of spring and electric motors around 1925. Hand cranks came in various sizes, but they were typically around 5 x 6 inches (10 x 15 cm). The arm was made of metal; the handle of wood, later Bakelite. They were positioned on the back side of some early cameras/projectors, and later exclusively on the right-hand side. The models depicted are rewind cranks for the Paillard Bolex H16 and H8 cameras produced in 1935 and 1938, respectively.
