07.

WHAT WAS A KINETOSCOPE?

I took these analogue pictures some years ago. My torso of a cinema projector puzzled me very much. 

In some old book I remembered having seen something similar, but when and where…?

His film projector " The Exhibition Model" became Edison's first proper attempt on that market about 1900. 

It seems to have been about five years after his competitors (like Lumiere's) first successful cinema shows.   

KINETOSCOPE

Edison’s Kinetoscope was simply a peephole viewer showing half a minute of "living pictures" for a dime. 

It had been made in large numbers and was still very profitable in arcades and market places since 1894.

                        Up here seemed to be some space for a missing part. What could that be, I wondered?

AND HERE IT IS:

Yes! I have found this drawing now! It shows a second projection lens designed for an additional smart gadget. Just by moving the lamp house to the left, there is a slide holder for sciopticon*) stills on 8 x 8 cm glass plates. So maybe the projectionist could show slides while inserting the next reel of film. A good idea at the time?

*) Magic lantern

ABOUT FILM FORMAT

Of all the patents concerning Edison’s claim on the art of producing movies, the film format became the most important. 35 mm film perforated exactly like the Kinetoscope film became a standard all over the world for cinemas and still photography for the entire twentieth century. During WWII it seemed to be used for a primitive experimental “phonographic recorder” called Recordograph too.