Cinema Nic 1950s with films

Collector’s item. Cinema Nic children’s film projector based on the magic lantern image animation method that was very popular between the 1940s and 1970s. The films were long strips of tracing paper with two practically identical images, the differences were the ones that gave the sensation of movement. Packed dimensions: 30x40x30, base width 12cm. All the films shown in the photograph are included. Signs of wear from the passage of time.

The NIC Cinema was created in 1931 in Spain, based on the principles of the magic lantern, but due to its originality and special characteristics it achieved an unprecedented diffusion among children of several generations. This small ‘cinema’ was patented by the Nicolau Griñó brothers in Barcelona on 25 April 1931, and the Catalan company Proyector NIC S.A. was responsible for its manufacture. The operation was very simple and at the same time ingenious: a paper tape with two slightly different images, above and below it, was projected in such a way that a shutter alternated the vision of one and the other image (thus achieving a precarious illusion of movement based only on two images that were seen alternately), and at the same time the film passed slowly in front of the lens, rolling up on one side and unrolling on the other. The optics were two simple lenses showing the top and bottom of the film, and the focus point had to be found by moving the projector away from or towards the wall or screen where the images were viewed. The illumination came from a domestic light bulb.