Early celluloid base films DO NOT AUTO IGNITE. They do bur nicely however. The combustion is initiated by the heat produced from the projector arc lamp falling on a single frame of the film for several seconds. This condition is a film transport failure and was / is not that uncommon of an event. Any nitro cellulose based plastic ( common name was celluloid) will burn when exposed to high heat or open flame.
Do not expose celluloid cylinders (blue / purple amberols, indestructibles, lamberts, liorets...) to open flame or high heat. On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:48:25 +0100, Norman Bruderhofer wrote: >Just something that's been bothering my mind for several years: >We all know about the high risk of auto ignition with early celluloid >films. Does anyone know if there is a certain risk with celluloid >cylinders (blue / purple amberols, indestructibles, lamberts, liorets >...)? So far, I have never heard of any incident with cylinders. >Referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_base the nitrate >compound was the major problem. I am not really into chemistry and >would be happy if anyone with further knowledge could post some >statements about this as I would like to know it for sure. >Regards, >Norman >]] Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. >-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) [[
