Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-06-12
THE KINETOGRAPH,
EdisOn's Latest and Most Sur.
prising Device.
An instrument for Reproducing
Motion and Sound,

Some time ago, while Edison. the electric
wizard, was in Chicago, he was asked what
Nc lh1enoed 70 prepare in the way of some
'nlns new for the Worlds Fair. Hereplied
mat he was projecting machine that will
20 happily combine electricity and photog-
raphy that man can sit in his own narIor
an see reproduced on a screen the moving
forms OF the players in opera produced on a
instant stage, and as he sees their movements
ne Will hear the sound of their voices as they
sing or laugh.
When this was telegraphei over the coun-
Try people laughed and thought that the IA
nous inventor had been guying his inter-
viewer, and the matter was soon forpottan
NOW, however, the wizard has actually nro-
duced such machine, called the kineto-
graph, although l6 has not yet reached per-
lection. pa
The kinetograph is nothing more nor less
than photograph camera arranged in a
new way to do new work. Its name implies
It's use. The name is derived from the Greek
words meaning ito move' and ITO write"
ana the machine literally furnishes COM
pIete record OF all the motions made before
It.: 1t photographs action. AS Edison saws:
The photograph does for the eve
"haI the monograph does for the
ear" In this small box camera Mr..
61nl aho, places aces roll of gelatne
ana or any length desired. The interior of
the camera is Of course arranged on a plan
similar to that on which the ordinary roll
cameras are made. The gelatine strip is I'M
rolled from one spindle and rerolled on an
other. and In passing from the first spindle
TO the second is carried before the lens of
the camera. The shutters of the camera ara
arranged to be worked by the shaft attached
TO the cylinder of the monograph This
shaft also works the spindles which Carry
the rolls of film.
The mechanism Of this camera is so ar
ranged that when the shutters open the
spindles stop and the geatine film is fixed
before the lens. In less than the forty-siS tn
part of a second the photograph is taken the
shutters snap, the spindIes turn, and the
gelatlne slip moves on for new photograph.
The arrangement is SO complete that forty
SIX perfect photographs are taken in one Sec
ond.
THE trouble with all attempts heretofore
made to reproduce action and motion by
photographs said Edison, ''was that the
photographs could not be taken in series
with sufficient rapidity to catch accurately
the motion it was desired to reproduce.
Hemment, the man who photographs run
ming horses in the thousandth part of one
second, had the idea, but he failed because
he could take only half dozen photographs
at a time"
To illustrate what he had said, Mr.. Edison
tooa one OF the rolls of gelatine film which
had been through the photograph and
showed it to the reporter. On it was photo
graphed one of the boys in his laboratory.
The photographs were about half an inch
square and were taken in the film at inter
walls of about one inch. They represented
the boy in the act OF taking off his hat and
bowling. Between the first view and the last
of the series the complete motion of remov-
ing the hat and making the bow was clearly
dlScarnable. but between any two cOnsecu-
tive views there was no apparent change in
the position Of the boys arm or head. In the
first view the boys hand was at his side.
gradually it was raised toward his head and
his head inclined forward. Then the hat was
removed and the bow completed, after
which the hat was replaced.
TO reproduce perfectly complete record
of pure notion" continued Mr.. Edison,
sit is necessary that the photographs should
be taken at the rate Of fOrty-Six per second.
Any smaller number would show irregulari-
ties and break in the motion. I've been
experimenting with this thing for a long
time Now Eve got it. That is, I've got
the germ, or the base principle. Come up
stairs and see the germ work"
He ran up stairs with the step of a boy AMI
easily headed the procession to the spot where
the germ" was expected to prove that the
reproduction of motion by photography was
an established facU.
To outward appearance the germ" is
nothing but pine box, which LOOKS very
much as if it might have been originally in
tended packing case for shoes or boots.
1t stood on end i'll front OF lathe, and the
open top was nearest to the lathe. In the
upper end was cut hole about an inch in
diameter, and in this hole was set lens.
On the bottom of the box was arranged
series of wheels and spindles. A role of gel
atine film was placed spindle on one
side of the bottom The end OF the gelatine
strip was then carried over one OF the
wheels and past the lens in the pole
in the top OF the box to another spindle
on the other side of the box bottom and
fastened \ small belt ran from the lathe
to the shaft, on which was set the spindle, to
which the end OF the gelatine film was fast
ened When the motor was turned on the
roll of gelatine strip was transferred from
the first spindle to the second, and IN the
transfer passed under the lens. The photo
graphs OH tue ship came out perfectly. AS
the germ was worked fast or slow the re-
production showed a pure motion or series
of Jerks When it was run at the highest
speed the reporter saw a Young fellow
waving his hands and touching his hat.
Sometimes he laughed or shook his
head or twisted his body and wriggied
around. The slip could be seen to be in rapid
motion. but the figure was always in front
of the lens, tossing his arms and shaking his
head and laughing. Every motion was nat
ural and perfect, and it needed but the pro-
iectng lens and the larger screen to see the
whole figure accurately produced, and to be
able to distinguish every feature and to rec
ognize the action of all the muscles of the
face
In a few weeks Mr.. Edison will be ready
to make a test of the practical powers Of the
germ on much larger scale.
The idea which nas actuated our Edison in
his work on the photograph is the reproduc-
ton of opera. He does not mean to show on
his white screen simply a lot of silhOuettes,
but to represent the stage with the actors on