Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-07-27
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Ing motion pictures exclusively could almost he
counted on your fingers
Invention OF motion pictures can partially be
attributed to a California incident Two race
morse men argued as to whether a horse whfIa
running had more than two feet on the ground
at any time To prove this, "a threads were
Stretcned across the track and the end of each
ettacned to a separate camera. horse ran
down the stretch breaking each thread separately
and exposing "a Photographic plates. One of the
men took copies Of the photographs to Europe
where they caused numerous experiments. Final
ly the task Of making motion pictures was given
up because no flexible substitute for glass could
be found
Years later New Jersey minister, trying to
discover way of making nonbreakable stereop-
ticon slides for use in his Sunday school, made
the discovery that celluloid was suitable. The
substitute was Immediately employed by photo
graph supply manufacturer which enabled
Thomas Edison to perfect his kaleidoscope, or
peep-hole machine first shown at Columbian ex-
position, Chicago in 1893 Forty feet of ribbon
film with continuity of action rolled past the lens
in hole in a cabinet with an intermittent move
ment that retained each picture before the peep
hole twice as long as it required to move the pic
ture to this spot. Back of the film was an cleo
trio light and directly in front of the lens small
hole through which the people could peep for the
of five cents. The film had sprocket holes
sprocket was placed on the rollers; -~-~~--'~~-'-.
This device served as an idea for Robert W.
Paul Of London the firm of Lumiere & Sons of
Paris and a man named Grey of New York city.
simultaneously these men thought of attaching
the film to stereOptcon lamp and projecting the
picture on to a SCREEN and began working out
machines which would do this properly. The
first projected motion picture in America was
that of Grey's eidoloscope in basement store
n
his projecting machine in March, 1896 and
Lumiere in 1897. At a later date, William Ken
nedy Laury Dixon. formerly with Paul en-
ployed by Thomas Edison. perfected the Edison
kaleidoscope This device a combination Of
the "peep-hole' invention with sprockets on each
side of the film introduced by Lumiere. a more
accurate intermittent movement for the film car
riage, and powerful lamp perfected by Thomas
Edison. Other machines appeared in America
about the same time. but later patent rights
all merged with that of the Edison. The projec-
ton machines were crude and it has required
much time and mechanical ingenuity to bring
them to the state Of perfection.
With machines made still greater problem
of securing new interesting subjects confronted
the showmen who took up the novelty. There
being no completed motion pictures for sale 1t
necessary for each exhibitor to make all his
subjects. No one thought Of making pic
lures of plays Instead, they caught finishes of
races, scenes in prize fights and topical events
of a sensational nature.
About this time Kansas City operator of these
machines, learning Of the projecting machine
made plans for concession at the Buffalo Pan
American exposition, which consisted of rail-
way Illusion made possible by rocking the coach
while pictures projected on a screen in
one end of the car. Later this was exhibited
throughout tie country in a specially constructed
railroad coach, and the name, "Hale's Tour Of the
World" became famous
The greatest step of the industry following
the perfection of projectors. films and cameras
was made simultaneously by Miles Brothers of
New York and Eugene Kleine of Chicago They
established aim markets or exchanges where
negatives we're bought and prints sold or rented
This system served to solve the problem of dis
tribution, by renting films to exhibitors for this
method is successfully used today throughout the
world
The exchange system assured permanent film