Featured Army Green Film Magazines

I have this pair of army green (WWII or Vietnam-era?) film magazines, but am not sure what kind of camera they go to. Looking around on the internet, I found the same distinctive labyrinth texture paint finish on Bell & Howell cameras, and saw that this company made film and imaging equipment for the US Military.

These are two separate magazines, but as you can see, hand-marked in green on both: “ IRS /#196. ” If anybody has knowledge of these types of cameras, I would really appreciate your thoughts:

1. What kind of camera or equipment are they used with?

2. Do you know anything about the paint technique used to make the labyrinthine texture-pattern on i.e. Bell & Howell cameras in general? I can’t find any information on this online.

3. What era are these magazines from, and what do you think they might have been used for? Is there possibly film inside that would need to be professionally preserved before being exposed to light?

 

I really know nothing about this at all, but have to suspect these are for use with a commercial/theater movie projector, not with a camera. Maybe some kind of informational short on the IRS & corresponding take up reel?

 

Dimensions?

Width of slot opening is a good clue to use, like would 35mm film fit thru with a few mm to spare? Wonder what full width of 35mm film is if that’s rather image size? I know next to nothing about this.

There’ve gotta be vintage camera boards on the web. Not sayin’ we’ll never get it figgered out here but it may take us lots longer.

 

One can always ask Wiki.

 

My WAG is that it/they are film magazines for a large camera setup used to make microfilm records of documents. I like that answer because it is fully consistent with something the IRS probably used.

 

Thanks very much for your ideas. The dimensions of the opening are ~ (7 x 39)mm, and overall dimensions are (8.5 x 8 x 2) inches.

 

Thanks, seems that slot would be about the right width for 35mm film. My opinion of their application is unchanged.

 

Welcome!