Among the books published by Stephen Herbert and his partner Mo Heard through their firm The Projection Box was my account of The Titanic and Silent Cinema (2000). Stephen really understood the machinery involved in historical optical media, and could explain it to others in a characteristically friendly style.
He was not afraid of controversy. In his final year Stephen wrote and published on his Optilogue website a series of posts about the film pioneer William Friese-Greene, setting out his reservations about that pioneer’s achievements.
Stephen Bottomore
Stephen Herbert was a truly empathetic and enthusiastic colleague at the Museum of the Moving Image, where I was in charge of education. A technical wizard, he could communicate his enthusiasm for the history of film to everyone, from children to the elderly amateur film-makers on our annual home-movie jamboree. His partner Mo managed the actors used in presentations, and it was lovely to share a common educational goal.
Margaret O’Brien
