A couple of months ago I inherited a whole mess of records from a client. They have been sitting on the floor of my living room collecting dust and taking up negative space. So after sorting, listening, and removing all of the junky ones (the 1970 M.A.S.H. film soundtrack was unbearable), I finally took them down to a local thrift store this afternoon for donation.
Now, it is a well known fact that I am a sucker for the more unusual finds at flea markets and thrift stores, but let me start by saying that today's discovery has me completely baffled:
What you're looking at is a DeJur-Amsco Corp (made in New York) Custom 8mm movie projector. Spotting a $15 price tag and a retractable chord in fantastic shape I deliberated in my head for a solid ten minutes on whether or not I should buy this thing. I eventually walked away because I just HAD to do research on it first (what can I say, I'm a history nerd).
Unfortunately there isn't a lot of info available out on the internets, and what I have found has been contradictory. I've narrowed down the manufacturing date of this model to sometime in the 1960s, and it is either a 750 as seen in the ad above, or is a 1000 as pictured here. It is missing the carrying case, among other things, and to be frank I have absolutely no idea if it even works.
What I have discovered is that in prime working condition these things sell for $195 on eBay; which is around the original retail price. Calculating inflation from that time period to today (1957-2007 = 639.56%), that original 1960s price tag would be equivalent to $1200 today. So what we're saying here is that this projector wasn't cheap. It also means I should give this whole issue a rest.
I feel like I need it in my life, but I'm NOT always sure with DeJur!
I just happened to come across this surfing film on YouTube shot on an 8mm video cam - Galveston, Texas in the early 70s. Pretty cool:
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