Wishful Thinking

Note the first sentence (click to embiggen)—

The Revere Camera Co. of Chicago (I'd never heard of it before), originally founded in 1920 as a maker of radiators by an immigrant from Ukraine called Samuel Briskin, became mainly a manufacturer of movie cameras from 1939 onward. According to Wikipedia it was the second-largest manufacturer of small movie cameras in the USA in the 1950s. The company also made some upmarket still cameras, including stereo cameras and some 126 models.

8mm Revere Model 40 of 1952 cost $99.50 new.
Photo courtesy Mr. Martin's Camera Museum.

Samuel Briskin sold the company to 3M for $17 million in 1960, when he learned he had inoperable cancer.

Alas, even forever seldom lasts forever. A stalwart and forthright guarantee, though, you've got to give them that.

Mike
(Thanks to Robert Harshman)

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

[Arne Croell]

So, will 3M honor that warranty nowadays?!? ;-)

"Forever" is even bolder than the "lifetime" warranty, where it was never clear to me whether it is the lifetime of the company or of the original owner (or of the product, which would be no warranty at all)?

[fjf]

Mr Briskin was very, very smart. He knew that folks buy a camera, use it twice, and then store it carefully in a cupboard so that it is never used again. I know this as I have not a few cameras exactly like this. And they all work. Guaranteed.

[Scotto]

I hate to be the "glass is half-empty" type, but a lifetime guarantee against defective materials or workmanship really doesn't cover the product longer than a couple of months.

For a true life-time warranty, consider this:

"If this Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, it will be repaired or replaced free of charge."

[Crabby Umbo]

Actually saw a lot of Revere 8mm's on the used movie camera shelves back in the 70's (when super 8 was really taking over). Have to say, I remember them, per the picture, as being kind of 'klunky', and even sounded kind of rough. Bought a used Bell & Howell 8mm about this time that was more streamlined and nicer looking, and had a two lens turret, and purred like a kitten. It took the little metal cartridges that had 25 feet of film in them and you flipped it over when it got to the end; a nice system.

[Bryce Lee]

The only warranty which is sure to happen, to all man and womym kind and their inventions.
is a physical death.Beyond that you're on your own.

I never did "revere" such a movie camera however know many who did.

[Mike Nelson Pedde]

"Guaranteed for life" is a somewhat ambiguous term - whose life, anyway? Guaranteed forever is definitely one way around that. I remember back in the 1970s when panoramic paintings on vans were big, reading about one artist who put so much pride in his work that he would redo it for free if the vehicle was ever rebuilt after an accident. It's a matter of pride.

It's been some years since I did any custom knife work, but I always told people that all of my work was guaranteed for as long as you can find me. In those years I only ever had one knife returned - the owner bounced it off a rock and broke off part of the handle (which I replaced). Whether or not my record stands at one because the work was good or because I was hard to find, well...

Mike.