Bell & Howell was an early manufacturer of film equipment, primarily film cameras, film copying machines, and film projectors, now based in Wheeling, Illinois, USA, operating under the name Böwe Bell & Howell. The company was founded as a corporation on February 17, 1907, in Chicago by film projectionist Donald Joseph Bell, mechanic Albert Summers Howell, and Mrs. Bell. Through innovative and reliable products, Bell & Howell Co. quickly made a name for itself in the burgeoning film industry. The first all-metal film camera, the Bell & Howell Standard Cinematograph Camera, Type 2709, was so expensive that it was privately owned by only four individuals, one of whom was Charlie Chaplin, while the others were held by various film studios. In 1907, the company invented a central image height adjustment for 35mm film projectors, and in 1908, a perforating machine for 35mm film.