The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1894-04-19
The Latest Production Of Edison,
Very Clever Brain.
KINEToSCOPE IS The NAME GIVEN IT.
Put . Nickic In she siet and Actsrs
In Any Incident OF Life and series
OF Events Are Portrayed In Actin.
aiity and Liselike Movements.

Everybody has seen the nickle-in-the-
slot machines which contain the phono-
graphs and play any kind Of tune pre-
viously sung into them.
Mr.. Edison has now ready for the mar
ket similar machine containing hie NOV
ing pictures, which is set agong when q
nickle is put in the slot. This machine
he calls kaleidoscope. The kinetograph
Is the machine which takes the photo
graphs and the kaleidoscope the machine
which displays them to the eye. In the
top Of the kaleidoscope, which is polished
oak box just like the monograph ma.
chines, is a peep-hole about two inches
long and half an inch broad covered with
glass. The interior of the box is lighted
by ele ;trici'y and shows picture about
two inches broad and one inch high.
The kaleidoscope in Mr.. Edison's work.
shop. which was exhibited to the reporter,
contains picture Of barbershop. There
was the barber about one inch in height
standing at his chair and three victims
waiting to be shaved. But waiting is not
the correct word to use In this picture.
One OF the Lilliputians actors rises and
walks across the picture to the chair, sits
down in the chair and is tilted back. The
apron and towels are adjusted in thrice
with no gentleness (t's cent shop,
end the hand of the barber moves pro-
fessionally over the patrons face and
under his chin before the proper razor is
chosen. The razor is strapped vigorously
over the strop few times and then be.
gins 5-cent shave that resembles the
swing Of a scythe in the hands Of farm
er. The victim writhes, but he has to
stand it.
Just at this moment one OF the waiting
manikins, who has picked up q newspa-
per and has been reading, is attacked with
fit oil laughter at something he sees and
rises from the chair, slaps the paper, and.
pointing to the place, hands the sheet to
the other waiting customer, who rises,
notes the place, resumes his seat, reads
the paper and also falls a victim to
laughter.
The barber all this time has been busy.
He rubs the head OF the man in the chair
and combs his hair. One of the signs on
the wall is suggestive. 1t reads: "With
or without chloroform?'
Mr.. Edison regards the nickle-in-the-
slot machine as mere toy. That is not
what he is after, although 1t is entertain.
ing, He said: ''Some time ago it oc-
Cured to me that it might be possible to
invent something that would do for the
eye what the monograph does for the ear
An instrument, in fact. that would faith.
fully record and reproduce practically all
motion.
II was familiar with the zeotrope, an in.
strument on which certain pictures were
painted, and which seemed to give the
figures a sort Of motion, and was also
very much interested in tire experiments
OF Muybridge, who photographed horses
in motion by instantaneous photographs,
and reproduced the movements, but all
these were very crude and resulted in
jerky motions. Tho eye is too quick for
such photographs. saw that to produce
pure motion pictures must be taken with
sufficient rapidity to record movements OF
less than an inch in any part Of the body,
a longer movement than that producing a
jar which destroyed the illusion.
Then began a series OF experiments in
photographing moving objects and we got
our apparatus to take 25 different photo.
graphs in second, but this is not stuff
cient. found that the human retina was
capable OF taking about 45 or 46 photo
graphs and communicating them to the
brain, and more rapid photography was
lost upon the brain. The difficulty was
to give sufficient exposure even for the
best instantaneous Photographic appara-
tus.
at is necessary for good picture that
the gelatine plate should be allowed to
have certain fraction OF time in which
to record the rays OF light that form the
picture and the great profile n was to get
an electric machine that would move the
gelatine plate along so rapidly between
exposures that 46 pic ures second could
be taken and enough time could be given
for each picture to be taken properly.
81 found that If a plate were exposed
the sixteenth part OF second to scene
that WAS very light with a very dark
background, perfect photograph result
ed. 1t was but simple process then to
figure out how fast the machine would
have TO run between exposures TO give 46
pictures, each sixtieth part OF a second
exposure. figured that 1t would have to
move from one exposure to another in
1-lS5th of second, that is to say, that
the instrument must be standing still for
exposure three fourths OF the second and
must be racing along at an enormous rate
OF speed the rest OF the second, 30 as to
get the whole 40 plates properly placed
for exposure.
1T was difficult job to get machine
that would do the work. When we got
the requisite number OF pictures we found
they showed with slight tremor when
We put them in kinetoscope. That was
because they had not been focused exactly
the same. II one picture is thousandth
part OF an inch out Of the exact lines of
the preceding picture the sensitive eye
instantly notices tremor of the picture
which effectually destroys the Illusion.
THAT is the whole story" continued