Stephen Herbert, b.1951. I live in Hastings, East Sussex, England.

I am a specialist in research concerning Early Cinema and Victorian optical entertainments, and also dabble in Early Television. I research, write, edit, and sometimes publish.

With partner Mo Heard, I set up a small publishing partnership The Projection Box in 1994, initially to publish small monographs on pre-cinema, optical toys, and early film. In recent years we have published more substantial books by specialists in the field. We have also produced several CD-ROMS, and we sell Early Cinema DVDs.

Most of our books relate to our specialist interests, but we have spread our range of subject matter somewhat, publishing an exhibition catalogue, Pleasurelands, for the National Fairground Archive.

Recently published projects include a book about the Phantasmagoria, by Dr. Mervyn Heard.

The partnership celebrated its first decade with a small authors' party in 2006. (We're reasonably literate, but hopeless at arithmetic).

My own work has also been published by others including Routledge, the British Film Institute, and The Magic Lantern Society.

I try to manage a website (The Projection Box) and in theory help Luke McKernan keep our Who's Who of Victorian Cinema website up-to-date. Now I've got this one to look after too.

I've recently finished writing a memoir (1958-67).

When not involved in the "Three Rs" (reading, riting, and researching) I'm sometimes to be found in the attic building model aeroplanes, or out and about crashing them.