Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 164,290 pages of information and 246,083 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Ernest F. Moy

From Graces Guide
1914.
1958.

Ernest F. Moy Ltd of 134, Bayham Street, Camden Town, London N.W.1.

1895/6 Company established by Ernest Francis Moy and Percy Henry Bastie to manufacture electric fuses, switches and circuit-breakers. They were introduced to the newly emerging science of cinematography through a customer, Robert W. Paul.

1900 Moy and Bastie launched their own film camera with daylight loading. The camera was soon competing with Williamson, Darling and Prestwich.

1905 One of their cameras was taken on Captain Robert Scott's Antarctic Expedition of 1905.

1909 the company began producing its most famous camera, a well-made and practical design described in their catalogue as 'Simple - Efficient - Reliable.' It was a professional hand crank 35mm motion picture camera in the English 'upright style'. The camera was constructed from mahogany and had two internal 400 foot film magazines. Focusing was achieved by viewing the image through the film via a tube from the rear. The camera utilized a unique film transport featuring the 'drunken screw' movement to achieve film pull-down.

The Moy and Bastie camera was well known for its impressive chain driven movement and brass gear wheels. The largest version had a price tag of £108, with an extra £5 for the Cooke lens. A 400ft external magazine, attached to the top of the camera, and a viewfinder mounted on the top right side were later additions to the original basic design. B

By 1911 Moy cameras were in constant use by British studios and topical film makers worldwide. It is said that the first picture shot in Hollywood was shot with a Moyer camera (also popularly known as 'Moy').

1922 Listed Exhibitor. Manufacturers of Kinematograph Apparatus, including Cameras, Printers, Perforators, Projectors, Arc Lamps, Film Gauges, Rewinders, Film Jointers, Automatic Developers, Resistances, etc. (Stand No. G.61c) [1]

1922 Directors Ernest F. Moy, Percy H. Bastie and Chas. G. Fox F.C.I.S. Products: Electrical switch gear, kinematograph apparatus

See Also

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Sources of Information

  • [1] Cinematographers