Paparazzi 1930's style

[Marco B]

Hi all,

From a quite recent Dutch newspaper (NRC Handelsblad 6&7 august 2011).

I knew a figure like Weegee already shot paparazzi style celebrity photos back in the '30 to '50s, even using a large format camera, and he probably had more company of fellow news hounds at other occasions, but it still is nice to see a picture like this to remind us that nothing is really new in photography.

There is a nice story to this picture as well, since, and probably not many people outside the Netherlands know this, the German emperor Wilhelm II was exiled to the Netherlands where he was granted asylum after World War I and restricted to stay in Huis Doorn, a mansion with park in the centre of the Netherlands.

The paparazzi photographer actually attempted to photograph Wilhelm's 1934 birthday...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huis_Doorn

Anyone actually know what type or brand of camera this is??

 

[JohnMeadows]

I could very well be wrong, but it almost looks like a movie camera to me.

 

[Sirius Glass]

That is what I was thinking because there appears to be a hand crank on the camera body.

 

[Marco B]

The tele lens might make more sense too in the context of some small film format movie camera... you probably wouldn't get far with a 4x5 press type camera even with such a lens... but let's wait what some more informed people have to say.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I don't what camera it is but is very interesting!

Jeff

 

[AgX]

It's a cine-camera to me, but that does not change the story...

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Marco ,

Le Parvo of Debri model L

I searched the old cams and your man could use this 1918 camera

Umut

 

[Sirius Glass]

I think Umut nailed it exactly.

Kudos

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Marco ,

Follow the link : http://www.cineressources.net/images/ouv_num/304.pdf

Umut

 

[Marco B]

Marco ,

Le Parvo of Debri model L

I searched the old cams and your man could use this 1918 camera

Umut

I think Umut nailed it exactly.

Kudos

I agree. Great work But it seems to be better known as the "Debrie Parvo model 'L' 35mm hand-crank movie camera" in English literature. The tele type lens bugged me from the first moment I saw the picture in the newspaper. It just didn't make sense for what I at first thought might be some large format film camera, but since the article was about paparazzi, I first assumed it would be a still film camera, not a movie camera.

Debrie Parvo model 'L' 35mm hand-crank movie camera:


From this webpage of the National Museum of Australia:
http://www.nma.gov.au/collections-search/image?irn=141538

By the way, it seemed Wilhelm II made a hobby out of wood chopping and cutting down trees on his estate. Here is a small film snippet of him throwing some wood chops from the ITN Source website:

http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//BHC_RTV/1937/01/18/BGU407220092/?s=*

 

[Marco B]

Marco ,

Follow the link : http://www.cineressources.net/images/ouv_num/304.pdf

Umut

Ah... SO nice!!! Thanks for looking up that manual! Even the tripod used in the picture seems original as it corresponds to the one in the manual in about every detail (see page 2 of the PDF).

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Wow. Facinating post, Marco.

I love this sort of stuff. Thanks.

Ken

 

[JohnMeadows]

Marco ,

Le Parvo of Debri model L

I searched the old cams and your man could use this 1918 camera

Umut

Bravo!!

 

[vpwphoto]

I could very well be wrong, but it almost looks like a movie camera to me.

Same sentiment from me.

Thanks for sharing!