Altrex New Ideas - Air Brella

I was rummaging around in the mess I call my camera and gear storage cupboard and came across this gadget I bought, oh, so long ago, in another time.  It's an Air-Brella Bounce Flash Reflector from Altrex New Ideas Inc. 7500 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, Ill 60077, USA.  It was actually awarded US Patent 4146918.

You blew it up (yes like a balloon or rather a summer plastic swimming tube for the kids, then fitted your flash, facing into it. There would be a thin plastic sheet acting as a diffuser between the flash head and the transparent balloon surface. There would be elatic rubber bands holding the flash to the balloon.

It still inflates. But the rubber bands are long gone. They did not last more than a few uses.

It sure was a conversation piece. And an icebreaker when used.