The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1920-09-18
MOVIES FOR EVERYBODY
Cheap Protector That Can Be
Used Anywhere Without
Trouble or Danger

used anywhere without trouble or
danger? Possibly Charles Urban. al
ready known as the joint inventor of
the kinemacolor process. may prove
to be the man. and we may Don be
speaking of Uncle Charlie" in the
same breath with Uncle Henry" At
any rate, Mr.. Urban believes he has
produced a machine of this character
in the invention of the spirograph, a
tiny motion-picture machine which
even a child can operate in the home
and which is absolutely safe against
fire. II Is so called because the film
is in spiral shape like a talking-ma-
chine record. Says a writer in The
Press Sunday Magazine (Philadel-
phia:
"Mr. Urban considers, as any tech
nical expert probably would, the spir-
al record the more important part of
his spirograph.
During the past fifteen years. he
| said, the worlds motion-picture in
| dustry has sought to devise a safe, in
expensive, and efficient means of re-
producing animated pictures in the
homes. Practically all the methods
| so far created have been based on the
use of roll film, utilizing either the
standard size of a reduction thereof
in width and length of the film roll.
The majority of roll films are of an
infiammable character. 1t was back
in 1907 that a novel suggestion, en-
| bracing the essentials for a successful
home picture machine. was placed be-
| fore me. The idea was to transfer in
| the spiral form onto a glass negative
the exact Photographic images in
| miniature, in the same consecutive
order as on the original standard
film.
From these glass negative plates
any quantity of positive, non-inflam-
mable, and n%on-curling records can
be made by the simple method of on
tact printing of the entire series of
pictures, within a few seconds, in
stead of the expensive methods in
vogue of picture-by-picture printing,
necessitated in all roll-flm projects.
Herein lies the economy"
Although Mr.. Urban considers the
record the important part of his spir-
ograph, he claims hat the projecting
machine Is unique in its simplicity
and utility. 1t has a special attach
ment for "eye-viewing," whereby the
picture can be seen in daylight and
the machine used as an animated
| stereopticon. To quote further:
1.-The electric current for operating
the machine can be obtained from al
| ordinary dry-cell battery purchasable
| at any store selling electric supplies,
a battery from an auto or connected
with the house system of electric
lighting.
Thus. on the road, in the man
sion, or in the poorest houses with
no modern lighting facilities the ma
chine a be used.
mo matter what method is en-
ployed, no heat is concentrated on the
picture, and thus all possibility of
fire is eliminated. This is really the
main point in the s~pirograph."
Mr.. Urban indicates as follows a
few of the uses to which the spiro-
graph system will appeal:
INSTRUCTION at kindergartens and
educational institutions generally.
Worldwide information and clean
amusement in the home.
Photographic studios could adopt
this method of depicting portraiture
of their clientele by being able tc
produce animated family studies al
a price equivalent to that paid fol
high-class photographs.
"The film trade would hail with
pleasure a means of enabling them tc
send to their various renters through
out the country or agencies in for
eign countries extracts on spiro
graph records from the principal sit
uations of their productions, instead
of sending a sample copy of theil
completed film.
Railway and steamship companies
could, through the use of the spiro
graph, boom any districts they de
sired.
Automatic advertising in stores
could be developed to enormous pro
portions by means of a small moto,
and s~witchback device to the spiro
graph.
mr.. Urban expects the spirograpl
10 be more widely distributed thai
talking-machines. He hopes the spiro
graph will give a new meaning to tn
present understanding of what a II
brary' is.
Nowadays we mean by it a collec
ton Of books.
Pretty soon people will have t
say whether they mean a library o
books or of picture records. Becaus
the spirograph is expected to Great
libraries OF motion-picture records
probably public libraries; certainl,
dealers libraries.
"Mr. Urban is determined upon tn
latter point. He wants to make l