The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

of an ordinary wall covering,” says that in his opinion it was in the long run “more economical because of its life-lasting and easy -upkeep characteristics.” The fabric was applied to the walls by means of an adhesive, called Acrylcid B-7, a product of the Resinous Products Company, of Philadelphia. Another feature claimed for the chair covers is a so-called “breathing” quality, which is said to permit air to get freely between the threads. This, naturally, helps to eliminate hot, sticky seat surfaces. Further, owing to their smooth texture, the covers do not tug at your clothes when you move over them. The varied Lumite products are put out by the Lumite Division of the Chicopee Manufacturing Corporation. The company is hard at work creating a wide assort¬ ment of designs, patterns and colors for extended applications to walls and furni¬ ture of this very modern development in plastics. New Sales Setup J. E. Robin, Inc., of New York, distrib¬ utors of a motor generator and rectifiers for projection lamps, recently became the sales representative of the Weber Machine Corporation, of Rochester, manufacturers of a thirty-five millimeter projector and sound mechanisms. Robin distributes the Imperial Stedypower generator and a new line of recti¬ fiers, called Selenium. Weber makes the Syncro-Dynamic and the Model HA port¬ able thirty-five millimeter projectors, and Syncrofilm soundheads, speakers, and amplifiers. Sealed and Delivered A three hundred to eight-hundred-seat movie hnuse — pre-designed, pre-built, pre¬ equipped and delivered — is the goal of the newly -formed Anderson-McCarthy Com¬ pany, of Minneapolis. The idea is the inspiration of Charles McCarthy, veteran exhibitor and pioneer transfer man in Minneapolis. His partner is Arthur Anderson, Jr., son of the man¬ ager of the Warner Brothers’ Exchange, Minneapolis. Price ranges for the pre -setup theatres have not yet been determined. But Mc¬ Carthy boasts that they will be “amaz¬ ingly low.” Sound Book Ready An illustrated sound catalog, eighty-four pages long, has just been released by the RCA Engineering Products Depart¬ ment. The book, divided into sections dealing with microphones, amplifiers, speakers, program control, and specialties, describes such new RCA products as the wire re¬ corder, model SP-15A portable sound sys¬ tem, intercom system, 250-watt amplifier, and the Bantam velocity microphone (Mi-12002). Copies of the Sound Products Catalog (218-P) may be had by writing to the RCA-Victor Division, Camden, N. J. Million Dollar Order The U. S. Navy has placed a $1,000,CK)0 contract for sixteen millimeter sound pro¬ jectors with the DeVry Corporation, of Chicago. The U. S. Signal Corps has or¬ dered a “considerable number” of thirty five millimeter projectors from the same company. The simplicity of design of woven plastics makes them acceptable for large wall surfaces where a modern look is sought. Also upkeep is easy. Here at the Apex, Washington, the plastic is used in the ladies' lounge. Tone Up With Plastics New Products for Wall Covering and Seating Deserve Attention So general has become the use of woven plastic materials that they even have turned up as wall coverings in movie houses. At the Apex Theatre in Washington, D. C., the above room was given its chaste, geo¬ metric look by the inclusion of such a wall covering — a gray-striped, ribbed fabric, called Lumite. The location is the ladies’ lounge. A more conventional use of the material is found on the chairs of the Empress Theatre in St. Louis, .where it turns up as upholstery covering, to the right. The color scheme here is a maroon, gray and green stripe on the back rests and a solid maroon on the cushion. Lumite, like other products made of saran — a vinylidene chloride plastic — has superseded ordinary textiles in many in¬ stallations lately, not because it is cheaper, but because it is more durable than the latter and far easier to keep clean. Also, it is fire-retardant. Scribblings, lipstick and ink stains, finger marks, and so on may be removed from the decorative walls of the ladies' lounge at the Apex with a soapy cloth, and by the same means, or with the addition of cleaning fluid, gum, candy, pencil marks and assorted stains from the upholstery covers at the Empress. This cuts down on maintenance and replacement costs. “A Little Higher” Frank Boucher, general manager of the K. B. Theatres, operators of the Apex, while admitting that the cost of putting in Lumite was “a little higher than the price Smoother than faille fabric and more porous than leatherette, plastics make a non-slip covering. PT-10 PHYSICAL THEATRE DEPARTMENT of THE EXHIBITOR September 22, 1948