may 20, 1891 - Kinetoscope

Description:

In 1888 Thomas Edison, famous for creating the electric light bulb, claimed he wanted to "do for the eye what the phonograph did for the ear". This introduced his idea of the Kinetoscope and Kinetograph and in June 1889 Thomas Edison gave the task of inventing them to his assistant William Kennedy Laurie Dickson. This could have been because Dickson had a background of photography. There had been some debate about how much involvement Edison had in the actual making of these inventions however, he definitely conceived the idea due to a visit from Eadweard Muybridge who invented the Zoopraxiscope.

A prototype was first shown on 20th May 1891, which used an 18mm wide film, to convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs and the final Kinetoscope was completed in 1892 . The device was a wooden box which contained the film (approximately 50 feet and 35mm wide) arranged around a series of spools. An electrically driven sprocket wheel corresponded with the sprocket holes on the film and caused the film to pass under the lens at a continuous rate. An electric lamp and a shutter caused a flash of light to be permitted and made it seem as though the frame was frozen. This serious of frozen frames created a moving picture. Viewers would see this through a peephole, with magnifying lenses, located on the top of the box.

I believe the Kinetoscope and the KInetograph was very important as it made the idea of moving image known and important. It lead to Edison's production comapany making many films. The device also lead to others, such as the Lumiere Brothers, try and better the device by creating their own, further adding to the development of TV and film.


Sources:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/static/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-motion-pictures/origins-of-motion-pictures.html

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/112686-thomas-edison-and-the-kinetoscope

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