
Originally introduced in the mid-to-late 1930s, the Keystone is a sturdy, spring-motor-driven camera that takes double-perforated 16mm film. The Keystone Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Edward M Swartz, Isidore Marks, Benjamin Marks and JM Weisman. The company produced a range of products, including 16mm and 8mm film cameras and projectors, and metal and wooden toys.
In 1936, Keystone introduced the Model A-7, a 16mm camera powered by a spring motor. It was capable of operating at seven different speeds – including 8 fps (frames per second), 16 fps and at slow motion. It was designed for both versatility and ease of use.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.