Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1916-12-04

properly under the head OF a future
chapter.
Meantime, as already limited, other
of the pioneers we're working on sim
liar devices, and perfected them, to
the point at least of commercial ex-
ploitation, at almost the same time.
Most noteworthy of these, in view of
influence later exercised on the in
dustry through it, was the cinemato-
graph invented and manufactured by
Lumiers G. Sons of Paris. Whether
the Paul or the Lumiers device was
first perfected in the manufacturer
private workshop is matter OF con-
troversy. 1t is, however, a matter
of record that, during the year 1896,
theatrograph was creating its first
furore in London and, during this
same year, the Lumiers were Just be-
ginning to astonish Paris with their
cinematograph. That their public
appearances were practically contem-
poraneous may be gathered from the
fact that neither was able to support
the other in its country.
Like Eastman and Walker in the
United States, the Messrs. Lumiere
were promoters of very consider
able dry plate business in France.
They first became interested in mo-
tion pictures through an observation
of the early Edison microscopes that
invaded the Paris market. They
turned their attention first to manu-
featuring raw cellulold film, then de-
vised a motion picture camera, and
finally perfected their projecting ap-
paratus for the screen.
Seemingly, Paul, Lumiere and the
other eXperimenters of this same
period were working along indepen-
dent lines. Consequently their vari-
GUS devices embodied certain marks
of distinction, but this primarily in
smaller details. In all Of them the
predominating principle was virtual
ly the same, We find very good
reason for this being so in the fact
that each had the same fund of pre-
vious inventions and proven expert
ments to draw from.
Since This essential was the same
in these first machines, and remains
the same in the improved machines
today, | shall now try to explain it
detachedly, and without application
TO any particular device.
Chief among the previous inven-
tions, from which the projecting
principle was drawn, were the mo-
tion picture camera, in which the
celluloid film passed from one maga-
zine, across the cameras lens and
into another magazine and with an
intermitten ent motion, the light being
regulated to keep pace with the in
termittent advance, by an opening
and closing shutter arrangement; the
kinetoscope, in which the film carry
ing the finished pictures unwound
and wound from one spool or reel
onto another, very much as the raw
film did in the camera-the chief
difference being that, instead of pass
ing in front of a Photographic lens,
the film in the kaleidoscope passed in
front of magnifying peephole and
the stereopticon, in which an intense
light placed to the rear of photo
graph printed on a glass plate, and
thrown through ii, projected the pho
tograph, in graduation of white
and black light and shadows, onto
curtain tr screen, and enlarged the
picture according to the length of
the room.
A motion picture projecting ma
chine divides itself into three parts:
"a the rear part, (2) the middle
part, anda(3) the fore part. To the
rear is the strong light, in the mid
die the glass condenser which con-
denses and thereby intensifies the
light rays, and to the fore are the
projecting lens and the devices for
winding the celluloid film from one
reel onto another so that the success
sion of photographs which It carries
on its practically transparent surface
pass in front of the lens and allow
the condensed light to project
through then and throw them, one
after another onto the screen at the
rate of sixteen per second.
1t should be here recalled that this
rate of sixteen per second is the same
at which the pictures were taken in
the camera, and consequently means
duplication of the speed with which
the subject actually moved when be.
ing photographed. It is to be noted
also that in the projection machine
as in the camera. the film moves for
ward with an intermittent motor
and that the projection of the llgh
and shadow effects onto the screeI