Silent Film camera

In this film still showing the director, cameraman and actors in The Head of the Family, note the camera on a tripod behind Cynthia Murtagh who is sat in the middle of the group.

STILL 1: Film cast for Head of the Family (1922), Charles Ashton is on the far right

The curator at the National Media Museum in Bradford, which houses a collection of antique cameras, identified the camera either as an Askania Universal no. 75496 or a Debrie Parvo. The Parvo, developed by a Frenchman in 1908, was very popular in Europe during the silent film era. Directors who particularly liked the camera were Abel Gance, Leni Reifenstahl and Sergei Eisenstein. A picture of a wooden Debrie camera on a tripod is shown below.

De Pavrio camera

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