The Estate of 3-D Pioneer Mortimer Marks 1912-2006年

We are pleased to present in a homogeneous lot the synthesis of the work of a brilliant inventor, Mortimer Marks, known as "The Father of 3-D". – Mr. Marks’ family has provided the documents and materials that first made his reputation in the world of polarizing filters, and later in the representation of stereoscopic photography for still images, 3-D films such as "Friday 13th Part 3-D" and "Jaws 3-D” (shot by the "Marks 3Depix Converter"), video and television. From polarizing filters, the stage was set for researching, developing and producing the Pola-lite polarized glasses used for viewing 3-D movies in such quantities in the early 1950s that five factories in the U.S. and Canada were producing 1 million Pola-lite glasses per day! – In this lot we have grouped the testimonies of various military departments after World War II, which express the excellence of the polarizing filters used in many optical instruments for military purposes which were, at this time, the main activity of Mortimer Marks. Later, with his brother Alvin Marks, this prolific inventor engaged in the process of capturing still or moving images in three dimensions. – Among a number of patents produced, there is one that draws particular attention.  It is the invention of an additional optical instrument that enabled 3-D images to be shot on a single 35mm film.This device, named the "Marks 3Depix Converter", used an "over & under" process in which the two shifted images, one above the other, were present in the window of a professional 35mm camera. – The camera was married to an Arriflex professional camera at the time but could have been adapted to fit other state-of-the-art motion picture cameras as well. The 3Depix Converter featured interchangeable focal length lenses which are included in the collection.  The 3Depix Converter was more cost effective than the two-camera systems popular at the time which required two cameras synchronized together for each taking angle of a scene as you mentioned. The 3Depix Converter was small enough to be portable and enabled filming in smaller spaces than the two-camera systems. Marks worked also as a consultant with the film crews to ensure the best 3-D effects would be achieved with his units. He worked well into his eighties on location and was mentally sharp and productive into his early nineties. For this reason, Mortimer Marks’ invention allowed the use of any conventional 35mm film, professional 35mm camera and 35mm projector, thereby reducing the initial cost of new equipment for the film-maker. The film could be viewed in the cinema through mass-produced polarizing glasses. The Polarator II is the second version of the 3Depix Polarator Projection Units invented and made by MARKS. These were projection lenses attached to the projector in motion picture theatres used to show films made with the 3Depix Converter. There was the Polarator I, II and Polarator III which was the most recent oft designs. The Plarator units were also used to create 2-D to 3-D, using any standard 35mm film and turning it into 3-D simply by projecting it through the device. The audience wore 3Depix 3D Viewers to watch the films. – Mortimer Marks followed up his work with polarized filters with the invention of a manufacturing machine to make sheets of the polarized film he invented. This enabled the mass production of the 3-D viewers needed to meet the huge demand for exhibition of 3-D film. – MARKS' 3Depix 3 D Viewers for TV and Motion Picture viewing were patented in 1967 after years of research. The concept was updated and the design was changed in a subsequent patent in 1986. Glasses were sold directly to the public for their enjoyment. – MARKS also invented a system for photographing and printing still images using an anaglyph 3-D (red/green) system to shoot and print the images, and MARKS' 3D Viewers were worn to view the final product. – The most valuable part of this collection is the 3Depix 3D Converter unit which is shown with the camera, while an integral part of the 3Depix 3D System were not nearly as costly to make nor as valuable as the 3Depix Converter. – In the age of IMAX cinema and the dawn of 3-D television and video, we are proud to offer the Polarator II and its demo version, with all its certifications and papers. – Arguably one of the most important pieces of motion picture history offered at auction for many years.