One of the first commercially viable 35mm colour motion picture cameras (pictured) will be auctioned by Special Auction Services in Newbury on 2nd July. Invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906, Kinemacolor cameras were used in the UK from 1908 to 1914. Hugo Marsh, Director of Special Auction Services says: “This camera is a really rare find – the cameras and film were extremely expensive when new so very few were made and each of the handful of survivors is significantly different - making them all the more sought after now.” Also included in the two day auction will be a single owner collection of 500 cameras that are expected to fetch in excess of £120,000. One of the earliest examples included in the collection is a 1860s wet plate camera that carries an estimate of £600-800. Day two of the sale comprises a collection of in excess of 200 Leica cameras, including a Reporter 250 (£2,000-3,000), the Leica IV Compur (rim set) estimated at £1,000-1,500 and more than 30 of the legendary M Series Rangefinder cameras with estimates from £200-800 each.

Special Auction Services Press Release

LIGHTS, CAMERA, AUCTION!

One of the first commercially viable 35mm colour motion picture cameras will be auctioned by Special Auction Services in Newbury on Thursday 2 July. The Kinemacolor camera in its fine brass-bound mahogany case dates from 1908 and is expected to fetch £15,000-20,000.

Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process that was used in the UK from 1908 to 1914 and it revolutionised the film industry. It was invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906 and launched in cooperation with Anglo-American film producer/distributor Charles Urban. Urban was one of the most significant figures in British cinema before the First World War. Urban Trading Co. was based in Wardour Street and was the first film business to be located in what became the home of the British film industry.

Hugo Marsh, Director of Special Auction Services says: “This camera is a really rare find – the cameras and film were extremely expensive when new so very few were made and each of the handful of survivors is significantly different - making them all the more sought after now.”

Also included in the two day auction will be a single owner collection of 500 cameras that are expected to fetch in excess of £120,000. The cameras, owned by a European collector include a splendid array of mahogany and brass British, French and German plate cameras from the 1860s to the early 1900s.

One of the earliest examples included in the collection is a 1860s wet plate camera that carries an estimate of £600-800. Magic Lanterns range from £100-800 and the stereoscopic cameras alone are expected to fetch £15,000.

Day two of the sale comprises a collection of in excess of 200 Leica cameras. Leica cameras, lenses and accessories are the ultimate in German engineering for 35mm photography and fine examples include a Reporter 250 (£2,000-3,000), the Leica IV Compur (rim set) estimated at £1,000-1,500 and more than 30 of the legendary M Series Rangefinder cameras with estimates from £200-800 each. These timeless classics are as useable now as when the first of the series came out in 1954.

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