1814

E. Paillard & Co. is founded in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, by Möise Paillard. Watch movements and music box mechanisms were produced from a small workshop on the ground floor of his house.

1875

Paillard opens a production factory in Ste-Croix for the manufacture of cylinder musical boxes.

1898

Credited as inventing the first amatuer cine camera, Birt Acres introduces a combination motion picture camera/projector. The machine known as the Birtac Home Cinema used 17.5mm film, created by splitting 35mm cine film. Hoping to coin the phrase "home movies", his invention was marketed to amateurs with the idea "to place animated photography within the reach of everyone."

1907

The Bell & Howell Company is established in Chicago, IL, by two former theatre projectionists, Donald Bell and Albert Howell.

1910

The Victor Animatograph Corporation, a maker of projection equipment, is founded in 1910 in Davenport, Iowa.

1917

Bell & Howell designs a prototype 17.5mm camera intended for amateur use. (It would later form the basis for the design of the 16mm Filmo 70 in 1923.)

1920

Paillard opens an additional facility in Yverdon, Switzerland, for the production of Hermes typewriters. This location would later serve as the center of the executive administration and research division for Paillard S.A.

1922

Pathé Frères introduces the Pathé Baby film system using 9.5mm film. Originally intended as a low cost format for home distribution of commercial films, it quickly became a popular amateur format for movie makers in Europe.

1923

The "birth" of 16mm movie making for amatuers begins.

Eastman Kodak introduces 16mm reversal film; marketed to amatuers as an inexpensive alternative to the 35mm motion picture film format. The immediate popularity of 16 mm movies resulted in a network of Kodak processing laboratories throughout the world.

Kodak introduces the world's first 16 mm motion picture camera in July of 1923; the hand-cranked Cine-Kodak.

Kodak introduces the first 16mm projector, the Kodascope

In August, the Victor Animatograph Corporation introduces a 16mm hand-cranked movie camera: the Victor Cine. Similar to the Cine-Kodak in appearance, it was designed with "film economy" in mind, and exposed 14 frames per second, rather than 16.

Bell & Howell introduce the world's first spring-driven camera, the Model 70A Filmo; a single lens 16mm camera marketed to the home movie enthusiast for the "making of personal motion pictures."

1924

Jacques Bogopolsky, a Ukranian engineer based in Geneva, Switzerland, patents his "BOL-Cinegraphe"; a combination 35mm cine camera and projector which was aimed at the amateur market.

1927

Bell & Howell introduces the Filmo Model C, the world's first 16mm turret camera, which allowed for the mounting of up to three lenses. The turret could be rotated to allow each lens to be moved easily into filming position.

The Victor Animatograph Corporation introduces the Victor Cine Model 3, a three-lens turret camera similar in appearance to the Filmo Model C.

1928 - 1949

1928

Bell & Howell introduces the Model 75 16mm home movie camera; beautiful and ornate, it was offered in three cosmetic designs and marketed as "watch thin".

Bogopolsky introduces his first 16mm camera under the Bolex name, the spring-wound, single lens Auto Cine A.

Auto Cine 16mm Projector introduced.

1929

Bolex Auto Cine B 16mm camera

1930

Bolex Model C 16mm projector

Bogopolsky sells the Bolex company to Paillard, forming Paillard-Bolex -- the cine division of Paillard S.A. His services are retained by the Swiss company for approximately five years.

1931

Bolex Model D 9.5mm/16mm projector

1932

Eastman Kodak introduces the 8mm motion picture film format, as a less expensive alternative to 16mm film.

Kodak introduces the world's first 8mm movie camera, the Cine-Kodak 8; a compact and affordable spring-wound camera marketed to amateurs for home movie making.

Bolex Model P 9.5mm projector

1935

Paillard Bolex H-16 16mm camera

Paillard Bolex H-9 9.5mm camera

1936

The American Bolex Company is founded by Ezra S. Brockway, in New York City; sole distributor and authorized Bolex repair and service facility for the United States.

Paillard Model G series projector

1938

Paillard Bolex H-8 8mm camera

1939

Paillard Bolex G-3 Tri-film projector

1941

The American Bolex Company begins a mail order catalog service, increasing Bolex availability to amateur movie-makers in the United States.

1942

L-8 8mm camera; Paillard's first small 8 camera aimed at the amateur market

1947

Introduction of the internal frame counter on H model cameras.

The L-8 redesigned with variable speed settings.

H-8 Leader 8mm camera

H-16 Leader 16mm camera

1948

Paillard Products Incorporated opens at 265 Madison Avenue, in New York City, with Hans Stauder as head of Paillard USA. They replace the American Bolex Company as Paillard-Bolex distributors in the US.

1949

H-8 Standard 8mm camera

H-16 Standard 16mm camera

M-8 8mm Home Movie Projector

1950s

1950

H-8 De luxe 8mm camera

H-16 De luxe 16mm camera

Paillard Products Incorporated publishes the first issue of the Bolex Reporter; a quarterly magazine free to registered owners of Bolex Cameras, and 35¢ at authorized dealer stores in the US.

1952

The Bolex Stereo kit is introduced as the world's first commercially available system designed for the filming of three-dimensional movies.

1953

B-8 8mm camera

1954

H-8 cameras (after serial # 98701) and H-16 cameras (after serial # 100401) are redesigned to include a registration claw.

H-16 Supreme 16mm camera

C-8 8mm camera

1955

After Spring 1955, the Bolex Reporter magazine was no longer offered free to registered owners of Bolex equipment, but remained available at franchised dealers for the same price of 35¢.

1956

H-16 Reflex 16mm camera

1957

B-8VS 8mm camera

1958

B-8L 8mm camera

H-8 T 8mm camera

H-16 T 16mm camera

H-16 M 16mm camera

C-8S 16mm camera

1959

Paillard opens an additional factory in Orbe, Switzerland, for the manufacture of optical parts for Bolex products.

H-16 REX 16mm camera

C-8SL 8mm camera

B-8SL 8mm camera

D-8L 8mm camera

1960s

1960

S-211 16mm projector

S-221 16mm projector

1961

18-5 8mm home movie projector

D-8LA 8mm camera

B-8LA 8mm camera

C-8LA 8mm camera

P1 Zoom Reflex 8mm camera

Paillard Products Inc. ceases quarterly issues of the Bolex Reporter, changing it into a biannual publication.

1962

H-8 REX 8mm camera

1963

Paillard S.A. officially merges with Thorens of Switzerland. Thorens manufactured record players and amplifiers at the Ste-Croix factory.

P2 Zoom Reflex 8mm camera

K1 Automatic 8mm camera

H-16 S 16mm camera

H-8 S 8mm camera

H-16 REX-2 16mm camera

18-5 Auto 8mm automatic threading projector

1964

P3 Zoom Reflex 8mm camera

K2 Automatic 8mm camera

S1 Automatic 8mm camera

H-8 REX-3 8mm camera

H-16 REX-3 16mm camera

H-16 M-3 16mm camera

1965

P4 Automatic 8mm camera

H-16 REX-4 16mm camera

H-8 REX-4 8mm camera

H-16 M-4 16mm camera

Eastman Kodak introduces the Super 8mm film format.

18-5 Super super 8mm projector

1966

Differences between Paillard S.A. and Thorens result in the end of the merger between the two companies. Thorens merged with EMT of Germany to become Thorens-Franz AG.

1967

H-16 REX-5 16mm camera

H-16 M-5 16mm camera

150 Super super 8mm camera

SM-8 super 8mm projector

18-5L Super 8mm projector

1968

S-311 16mm projector

S-321 16mm projector

155 Macrozoom super 8mm camera

1969

7.5 Macrozoom super 8mm camera

Multimatic super 8mm projector

1970

160 Macrozoom super 8mm camera

Paillard Bolex is renamed to Bolex International S.A. as a result of company restructuring and a need to compete with the growing Super 8 market. While development of the H-16 would continue in Switzerland, future products would be manufactured in Austria, Italy and Japan.