VICTOR
ULTRA CINE CAMERA
Victor
Cine Sales Corporation, New York City 1924
By 1924-1925, Victor's equipment was being sold by the
Victor Cine Sales Corporation, 242 W. 55th Street, New York City. The company's name appears on a tag affixed
to the Victor Ultra Cine Camera shown here, and advertisements have been found
from 1925 with this corporate name. More
research is needed to determine whether this was a separate company established
to handle sales and distribution, or an entirely new business altogether. Earlier products such as the Victor Safety
Cinema (1917) and later products such as Victor's Model 3, 4 and 5 Cine Cameras,
and various models of their Cine Projector from the late 1920's and onward, bear
the Victor Animatograph label.
Powered by a lead-acid battery supplied by the Willard
Storage Battery Company, the motorized 16mm Ultra Cine was a step up from the
1923 Victor Cine-Camera which was hand cranked like most early amateur movie
cameras. The Ultra Cine was also equipped with an ingenious Newton-style
finder. By adjusting a mirror, it could
be used as an eye-level or waist-level finder, retracting into the body when
not in use. Per Alan Kattelle, noted
cine collector and historian, "unfortunately, the battery was not up to
the task demanded of it; it discharged too quickly and had a tendency to
leak. Only 80 of the cameras were
produced, priced at $140." With a
high price, apparently very little advertising and performance issues from the
onset, the Ultra Cine quickly proved unpopular.
Victor's introduction of their spring-wound Model 3 Cine
Camera in 1926, and the Ultra Cine not appearing in Central Camera Company's
catalog for 1925-1926, suggests that the camera was produced in 1924 and likely
ceased by year-end. At least 6 examples
are known to exist, and most are likely missing their batteries. This example
has its original strap and battery box, appearing otherwise complete with the
exception of its batteries.
All said, this makes the Ultra Cine very rare, so don't
pass up the opportunity to acquire one if ever given the chance.