Bach (Walter) collection on Auricon sound-on-film cameras, approximately 1952-1968

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Summary

Title:
Walter Bach collection on Auricon sound-on-film cameras
Dates:
approximately 1952-1968
Creators:
Bach, Walter H. (Walter Herman), 1916-2004, Berndt-Bach, Inc., and Berndt, Eric M. (Eric Max), 1903-1975
Abstract:
Materials compiled by Walter Bach, Berndt-Bach co-founder and Bach Auricon president, related to Auricon sound-on-film cameras.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet (1 flat box)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Walter Bach collection on Auricon sound-on-film cameras, PA Mss 256. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains technical documents, advertising materials, newspaper and magazine articles, and photographs related to Auricon's line of sound-on-film cameras.

Biographical / historical:

The first official Auricon sound-on-film camera, the S16MM SB-CT, was built in 1941 by engineers Eric Berndt and Walter Bach. Berndt built his first sound-on-film camera in 1931, after leaving his job at RCA Photophone. He had been manufacturing sound cameras, recorders, and other motion picture equipment, including the first 16mm sound camera used for newsreel photography, throughout the 1930s under the auspices of the Berndt-Mauer corporation in New York. In 1940, Berndt resigned from Berndt-Mauer and formed Berndt-Bach with Walter Bach. By 1952 the company was producing three models of Auricon optical sound cameras: the Cine-Voice (1949), the Pro 600 (1952), and the Super-1200 (1952).

In 1955, Berndt-Bach developed their patented method for recording magnetic sound on "striped" film, Filmagnetic, and by 1958 Filmagnetic came factory-equipped on the new Cine-Voice II. Following Berndt's resignation in 1960, the company was renamed Bach Auricon, continuing to manufacture Auricon cameras until the end of the 1970s. By 1980, the advent of video tape and portable video cameras made 16mm cameras largely obsolete, and the company ceased production. Independent filmmakers continued to use Auricon cameras well into the 1990s, however, until the scarcity of magnetic striped film stock made filming with Filmagnetic cameras impractical.

The compact functionality of Auricon cameras, their ease of use in the field, and their relatively quick production turnaround were ideal for television news and documentary filmmakers, and by 1960 the cameras were a cornerstone of network news departments. Integral to the development of "direct cinema," Auricon cameras were also popular among independent and experimental filmmakers of the 1960s, who were drawn to the cameras' affordability, versatility, and ability to record long takes. Among the films shot with Auricon cameras are Andy Warhol's seminal Empire (1964), Paul Morrissey's Flesh (1968), John Waters' Pink Flamingos (1972), D.A. Pennebaker's Monterey Pop (1968), and Albert and David Maysles' Gimme Shelter (1970).

Acquisition information:
Purchase, May 2023.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Rebecca Vasquez, March 2025.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-06 09:18:54 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@library.ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Walter Bach collection on Auricon sound-on-film cameras, PA Mss 256. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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