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Pathex Home Page
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  Pathe Baby was the trade name for a 9.5 mm home movie system introduced in France for Christmas 1922. An extensive catalog of existing Pathe Freres films were issued in this new format. The first were only 30 feet long -- about 90 seconds of cranking. But the innovative freeze frame mechanism lengthened the showing time by not wasting footage on title cards. In 1924, film length was increased to 60 feet. In 1928, Super reel films that were 300 feet long were introduced. 9.5 mm persisted as the 'standard' format in Europe thru the 1950's.
 
   Pathex was the trade name of Pathe Exchange, Inc., Pathe's US subsidiary. In America, film exchanges distributed movie releases to theaters. The 9.5 mm format was introduced in America for Christmas of 1925 (Model D projectors). A lot of money was spent but Kodak, with 16 mm and then 8 mm, blew Pathe 9.5 mm out of the North America market. The Great Depression did not help. Pathex 9.5 was essentially finished by 1932.
PS - the slots for the American flywheel-drive motor were cut in New Jersey -- often they nipped the medallion that was soldered on in France.
 
If you want to see
 
   .. Some of my PB collection, click photographs
   .. 35mm projector, click Model 1909 (Pathe New York)
   .. 35mm projector major competitor, click Powers # 5
   .. U.S. released films, click Pathex Films
   .. Sample U.S. film, click Our Gang
   .. Early French films, click 1923 Pathe Baby
   .. British films, click Pathescope
   .. the catalog, click Pathe 9.5mm Equipment
.. my guy, click gallery (Pathex made a 3x60' Hart film)
   
   Links to other 9.5 sites are listed below:  
  

To convert 9.5 movies to VHS, contact:

Visit the 9.5USA club at www.9-5usa.org

Visit Group 9.5 (the 9.5mm club in the U.K.) at www.Pathescope.freeserve.co.uk/Pathe95.htm

See Jean-Pierre Betton's Exhibit in France at www.perso.club-internet.fr/chbetton/index.html
    (JP is fair to deal with and has several pages of photographs. 'Next' links are at the top of his pages.)

Learn about 100 years of film sizes (history of film formats) at www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/filmsize.html
    (be sure to click the link at the bottom of the page to see much more)

Visit Ted Barnett's collection at www.alaska.net/~lonewolf/95mm.htm

Don't miss Grahame Newnham's homepage at www.Pathefilm.freeserve.co.uk/
    (sells fresh 9.5mm camera film as well as misc. and collectible films)

Visit Pierre Gauriat's homepage at www.pierreg.free.fr/cine95/index.html
    (in both French and English with charts for comparing 9.5mm to other formats)

Bore yourself silly with Jerry Wagner's hobby pages at www.libertyship.com
 
 
For info, parts, equipment or films, click wagner@ourtoolbox.com