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Short Wave Tuner & Amplifier No. 17, by Robert W. Paul, London, c. 1915
Inventory Number: 44893
Number of documents: 1
Document Type: Miscellaneous Note
Document Heading: Manufacturer Details
Text:
Robert W. Paul began his technical career learning instrument-making skills at the Elliott Brothers, followed by the Bell Telephone Company in Antwerp. In 1891, he established an instrument-making company, Robert W. Paul Instrument Company, initially with a workshop at Hatton Garden, London. In 1894, he became interested in the new industry of the 'kinescope' (an early 'peepshow' type of cinema). He soon pioneered a new film system and began producing his own motion pictures including a number of the earliest British films. In 1896, he pioneered in the UK a system of projecting motion pictures onto a screen, using a self-developed 'Maltese cross' system. In the early 1900s, Paul went back to instrument making, focussing on his internationally renowned 'Unipivot' galvanometer; however, the film section continued on and only closed in 1910. Paul's instruments were internationally renowned: he won gold medals at the St Louis Exposition in 1904 and the Brussels Exhibition in 1910, among others. Upon the outbreak of WWI, he began producing military instruments including early wireless telegraphy sets, and instruments for submarine warfare. In December 1919, the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company took over the smaller but successful Robert W. Paul Instrument Company and became The Cambridge and Paul Instrument Company Ltd. The name was shortened to the Cambridge Instrument Co Ltd in 1924 when it was converted to a public company.
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