The Bismarck tribune., 1931-06-19
FRENCHMAN MADE
TALKING PICTURES
AS EARLY AS 1898
August Baron, Now IS Years
Old, Is Living in Home for
Disabled Poor
WAS POOR BUSINESS MAN
His Machines on Exhibition in
Conservatoire des Arts ct
Meters Now
WAS POOR BUSINESS MAN

ISiVS IvVV
Paris, June l9.-The original in
ventor of talking pictures cannot see
one because he is blind. and cannot
hear one because he hasn't got the
price of admission
This is the fate Of August Baron,
fine old man Of Is who is living
here in a home for the disabled poor.
His big idea came to him 35 years
ago when the moving picture business
was an industrial bate on the bottle,
and now he sits in the dark, listening
to fantastic tales OF what has been
achieved from his inspiration
"a Years Ago
In 1895, when the Lumiere Brothers
began to produce their animated
images" with vague movements such
as the arrival of train, the first
French moving picture. Auguste
Baron, engineer. musician. painter
and a genius at lighting effects. was
working In Paris theater as an ad-
wiser on stage direction.
The theater had just installed in
the LOBBY what became known as the
slot machine, whereby one could in
sert a coin. see series Of photo
graphs and hear accompanying music.
Baron had been thinking about the
work Of the Luniere Brothers when
one night he casually put 10 centimes
in the slot machine and had a look.
There was no synchronization, only
the simple putting together of al
image and sound movement.
Big Idea Born
But this stirred the Imagination OF
the inventor. He concluded that the
fault with this new moving picture
idea was that It had no sound effect
to make it realistic. So he went to
work.
In the following year. April g..
Baron took out his first patent on
system OF synchronizing movement
and accompanying sound. On Oct. 8.
1898, he got German patent and on
Aug. %. 1900. an American patent
good for 20 years. With his own re-
sources he built, in Paris suburb,
what would now be known as a
studio.
His rigging had. placed above the
movie camera, cupcla which con-
tanned highly sensitive microphones
of grain -carbons. A feeble current
modulated by these microphoEes was
amplified by three successive relays
leading to the sound cabin at one
side. Sound was registered on an
old-fashioned wax cylinder, such as
used by Edison in his first phono-
graphs, so that it synchronized per-
fectly with the action of the movie.
In principle his system was very
much like that developed with such
startling success quarter OF CEN
tury later.
A Commercial Failure
Baron's first talking films were pro-
duced in 1898 and could run for four
minutes. He spent about $4,000 on
this work and could not get the sup
port required to finance his expert
ments. He quickly concluded there
was no commercial future in the talk
science, he was not a good business
man and was quite content when he
astonished his friends by showing
them what could be done.
Eleven of his machines are now on
exhibition in the Conservatoire des
Arts ct Meters.
In 1901 Baron turned his attention
to the development OF an automatic
camera, which he called the Multi
rama" and which could be attached
to a balloon and operated in such
way as to photograph 100 kilometers
of ground without change of film.
During the war this did eminent
service when carried by airplanes by
taking pictures of enemy positions
Another of his Photographic achieve
ments was a camera capable Of TAX
ing a 360-degree panorama picture.
Now Completely Blind
But although his employees pro-
tected their eyes against the harsh
lights of the studio, Baron refused to
wear glasses. Ten years ago his sight
began to fail and shortly afterwards
he became completely blind.
The Academy Of Sciences granted
him a pension of about SITS yearly
and, without other resources, he was
forced to enter charity home. His
wife, still proud Of his achievements.
cares for him lovingly and helps him
as much as she can by giving piano
lessons.
Baron still smiles cordially and has
no grievance against his fate, but he
at times becomes melancholy when
he is told about the great financial
success Of the talking picture.
Too Late
ALAS, 1t is too late to talk of me-"
he says sadly. When reminded that
his brain was in advance Of the times
and that he has at least lived to know
that his great idea was successful, he
only adds: II am infinitely touched
but I can only repeat that 1t is toe
late to talk Of me. am getting old
and ask nothing except when I die
that my wife will be looked after"
And she in her turn says 1t Il
enough for her to have known those
happy hours when he was succeeding
with his work. But I hope that my
son will never become an inventor.
she added
Baron's friends are now trying to
have him decorated with the Legion
Of Honor and to gain for him some
recognition from the government.
Boards ARE ORDERED