The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-04-11
EDISON'S LATEST
INVENTION
A Favored Pew Treated to an Exhi-
bitiOn Of the Inventors Most
Recent Production.
CALLS IT THE vITAscopE
Spectators Kitness a Skirt Dance sad a
Derby Race With Life Sire Figafss--
the kaleidoscope Psrieeted--ros-
sibiIities for the Fatufe.

New York, April iO.--A new invention
By Thomas A. Edison was shown to a
few favored persons at the West Orangs
laboratory last night The new machine
Is really a grown up kinetescope. and u
Is success.
Mr.. Edison calls his latest invention the
vltascope. which he says means ma
chine showing life. and that Is exactly
what the new apparatus does.
The vItascope. which has been In pro-
cess OF perfection at the LIewellyn lab-
oratory for the last seven or eight
months. under Mr.. Edison's direction.
is the ideal he had in mind. he says
when he began work on the kinetescope
machine. with which he has never been
satisfied.
The Vitascope Is an Improvement Of
the kinetiscope. by which moving life
sized figures Of men, women and animals
are thrown upon screen by means o.
bright lights and powerful lenses. The
trial OF the new machine was made last
night in a cold corner OF the big fou1-
dry at the works, and Mr.. Edison. with
Richard ". Dwyer. William y. Gilmoufs
manager OF the phonograph works; Ran
& Gammen, OF New York, and a few in
vited guests huddled around a red hot
stove and gazed at and admired the mar
vellous figures thrown upon the big white
screen at one end OF the room.
The first picture shown was a coloreA
panorama OF a ssrpentine dance by Ana
belle. VINO went ont to West Orange to
pose one day last summer The illm ron
On which the photographs were attached
was arranged over a half dozen spo0ls
and puIleys. and the machine set In mo-
tion.
Even the inventor himself was sur
prised at the result. although with hia
usual critical eye he discovered flaws IN
the film which he declared must he dis-
posed of before the vitascope would come
UP to his ideal.
Anabeile danced for FIVE minutes. ana
then a panorama OF the latest English
Derby was thrown upon the screen
The feature of the new machine which
astonished all who saw last nights views
was the almost entire absence Of vibra-
ton IN the pictures as they appeared on
the screen. and which had been the hard
est obstacle to surmomt in perfecflng
the apparatus.
The original photographs as by the
kinetescope and developed on the film
roll are about the size Of special deliv-
cry postage stamp. and to produce =
life size picture they are magnified about
six hundred times. OF course each vfhra-
ton OF the film or the apparatus which
revolves IL Is magnified In like proportion.
and every previous attempt to do away
with the vibration had been unsuccessful
Mr. Edison expects to be able soon to
improve the phonograph so he win be
able to take records double the length
of these which the present cylinders win
contain. and the vitascope and phono-
graph will then be SO combined that it
will be possible for an audience to watch
a Photographic reproduction Of grand
opera and hear the singers and see the
acting with as much distinctness OF
sound and vision as IL they were In the
opera house.