1. Unidentified maker

POLISHED MAHOGANY LANTERN

A magic lantern is a device used to project images. An image fixed on a transparent base such as glass is illuminated by an internal light source (such as a candle, oil lamp, or light bulb) housed in a dark box, and projected, magnified, and focused by a lens. The pipe on top is used to ventilate smoke and heat. This model has a carrier to hold several lantern slides to be inserted individually and projected. Magic lanterns have been used since the 17th century as a form of entertainment and as an educational tool.

2.

MAGIC LANTERN SHOW

This is what a magic lantern show was like. The man operating the magic lantern is projecting an image onto a screen for the spectators standing behind him. The projectionist often told a fantastic story to accompany the images he projected. The magic lantern or projector is a key component in the invention of motion pictures.

3.

PHANTASMAGORIA

In 1798, using a magic lantern on wheels with a screen of smoke, Etienne Gaspard Robertson created the "Phantasmagoria"—telling a ghost story of heroes of the French Revolution. The story was enhanced and more frightening because Robertson projected from behind the screen (unseen by the audience) and incorporated movement and atmospheric effects like smoke.

4.

THAUMATROPE

The Thaumatrope is a spinning disc that demonstrates Persistence of Vision–a phenomenon that happens with our eyes. When we see an image it is held on the retina for a fraction of a second. If we see another image right away the two pictures together make up one single image. Although known for years the Thaumatrope was patented in 1826 by Dr. John Ayrton Paris. It is a device using a small disc with a different picture on each side. One side of this disc pictures an empty birdcage while the other side depicts a bird. When the Thaumatrope is rapidly turned by the strings attached to opposite sides of the device, the bird appears to be in the cage.

5.

PHENAKISTOSCOPE

The Phenakistoscope was invented by both Dr. Joseph Plateau and Simon von Stampfer in 1831. It is a circular, slotted disc with a sequence of images between the slots on one side. The viewer would fasten the disc to a handle, hold it up to a mirror at eye level, spin the disc, and look through the slots to see the reflected images move. The slots function like a shutter in a motion picture projector. Without the interruption from a “shutter” the images would look blurred. The Phenakistoscope could only be viewed by one person at a time.

The phenakistoscope illustrated here is a version that did not require the use of a mirror because the slots are on a separate disc from the images.

6. Unidentified Maker

ZOETROPE 13 SLOTS

introduced 1867

The Zoetrope, like the Phenakistoscope, presents a sequence of images to be viewed through slots to give the Illusion of Motion- when the eye sees a succession of still images at a quick enough speed, Persistence of Vision allows the brain to link them together. If the images are similar, with small changes frame to frame, they will appear as smooth motion.

W.G. Horner of England invented the Zoetrope in 1834, but it wasn’t introduced in the United States until 1867. The Zoetrope consists of a rotating drum with slots at equal distances around the wall. It uses interchangeable strips of images placed inside the drum that show a sequence of action when viewed through the slots. The Zoetrope could be viewed by several people at once.

7.

ZOETROPE STRIP - DANCERS

Here are some examples of Zoetrope strips that were inserted into the cylinder for viewing through the slots. Notice how each picture on a strip is a slightly different view of an action sequence.

8.

ZOETROPE STRIP - LEAPFROG

Here are some examples of Zoetrope strips that were inserted into the cylinder for viewing through the slots. Notice how each picture on a strip is a slightly different view of an action sequence.

9.

ZOETROPE STRIP - MAN ON MULE

Here are some examples of Zoetrope strips that were inserted into the cylinder for viewing through the slots. Notice how each picture on a strip is a slightly different view of an action sequence.

10.

ZOETROPE STRIP - MAN CHOPPING WOOD

Here are some examples of Zoetrope strips that were inserted into the cylinder for viewing through the slots. Notice how each picture on a strip is a slightly different view of an action sequence.

11.

ZOETROPE STRIP - MAN PUMPING WATER

Here are some examples of Zoetrope strips that were inserted into the cylinder for viewing through the slots. Notice how each picture on a strip is a slightly different view of an action sequence.

12. Emile Reynaud (manufacturer)

PRAXINOSCOPE

ca. 1880

The Praxinoscope, patented in Paris in 1877 by Emile Reynaud, was an improvement on the Zoetrope. The structure was very similar to the zoetrope but a series of rectangular mirrors was placed in the center of the drum to reflect the images to the viewer. This innovation provided easier viewing and a smoother action sequence.

13. Emile Reynaud (manufacturer)

PRAXINOSCOPE THEATRE

ca 1879

Reynaud continued to make improvements to his Praxinoscope. He introduced the Praxinoscope Theatre, which had a viewing window for the moving images. The “window” was designed to look like a theatre stage, thus providing a backdrop for the action.

14.

PRAXINOSCOPE THEATRE

This illustration shows a man and a girl viewing the Praxinoscope Theatre. He is using the viewing window but the effect could still be seen by several people at once.

15. Emile Reynaud (manufacturer)

PROJECTING PRAXINOSCOPE

ca. 1880

By 1881, Reynaud had produced a projector to use in conjunction with the Praxinoscope.

16.

PROJECTING PRAXINOSCOPE

The Projecting Praxinoscope combined the magic lantern or projector with a device that relied on Persistence of Vision to create the Illusion of Motion.

17.

THEATRE OPTIQUE

In 1892 Reynaud opened a motion picture theater, the Theatre Optique, in Paris. The pictures used in the theater were hand-drawn, not photographed, on long strips of transparent, perforated celluloid. He used rear projection, hand cranked the film, and accompanied it with music and sound effects. This was a close step toward what we know today as movies.

18.

FLIPBOOK

A Flipbook consists of a series of individual pictures drawn on a stack of paper and bound together so that each card is equivalent to one frame of movie film or one panel of a Zoetrope strip. Each picture represents a part of an action sequence. When the cards are held in one hand and the edges are flipped past the thumb in rapid sequence, there is an illusion of motion. In 1868 it was patented by Linnett and marketed commercially.

19. American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. (manufacturer)

MUTOSCOPE - WOODEN TABLETOP MODEL

introduced ca. 1896

A Mutoscope is an early motion picture machine using the flipbook technique. Public arcades featured this device where, for a penny or a nickel, you could turn the crank and see a show. The tabletop Mutoscope pictured here is a smaller model than the ones in public arcades. It was marketed for home use and has a mirror on top to reflect the image for easier viewing.

20. Gaumont & Cie. (manufacturer)

KINORA A MAIN - HANDHELD MODEL

The Kinora also uses the flipbook technique to deliver an action sequence. It was held up to the eyes and hand-cranked.

21. Unidentified photographer

PORTRAIT OF EADWEARD J. MUYBRIDGE

Born Edward James Muggeridge in England, Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) immigrated to California and in 1860 he began photographing West Coast landscapes. By 1872, he was experimenting with photography in motion, initiated largely by Leland Stanford, onetime governor of California. Legend has it that Stanford wanted to settle a bet that all four feet of a horse are off the ground at one time when it is running. Muybridge provided photographic evidence by using a series of cameras set up along the track, with strings from the shutters stretched across the track. The running horse triggered the shutters, taking its own pictures. From the series of pictures taken, Muybridge was able to prove that all four feet were indeed in the air simultaneously.

22.

PATENT DIAGRAM, FIG 1

Figure 1 and figure 2 were the diagrams submitted along with Muybridge’s patent application. Here is an excerpt from Muybridge’s patent application filed June 27, 1878:

Figure 1 shows the track where the horse would be photographed and the numbered background.

“My invention has reference to that branch of photography which is known as ‘instantaneous photography,’ and it applies more particularly where the object to be photographed is in rapid motion.

The principal object which I have in view is to take photographic views of horses that are moving rapidly under speed, in order to determine the posture, position, and relation of their limbs in different portions of their step or stride.

My invention relates to a double-acting slide, with the means of operating the same, and to a novel background, which is graduated or marked so as to gage [sic] the position of the horse and the posture of his limbs…”

23.

PATENT DIAGRAM, FIG 2

Figure 1 and figure 2 were the diagrams submitted along with Muybridge’s patent application. Here is an excerpt from Muybridge’s patent application filed June 27, 1878:

Figure 2 shows a side view of the camera slides, track, and background and the position of the camera (B).

“My invention has reference to that branch of photography which is known as ‘instantaneous photography,’ and it applies more particularly where the object to be photographed is in rapid motion.

The principal object which I have in view is to take photographic views of horses that are moving rapidly under speed, in order to determine the posture, position, and relation of their limbs in different portions of their step or stride.

My invention relates to a double-acting slide, with the means of operating the same, and to a novel background, which is graduated or marked so as to gage [sic] the position of the horse and the posture of his limbs…”

24. Eadweard J. Muybridge

DAS PFERD IN BEWEGUNG, “ABE EDGINGTON” (THE HORSE IN MOTION)

1878

Here is an example in German of Muybridge’s earliest motion studies using a horse named Abe Edgington. He mounted a series of albumen prints to cards that explained the significance of the background markings and other pertinent information. The description from a similar card (although one with twelve images rather than six of Abe moving faster) in English reads:

“The negatives of these photographs were made at intervals of about the twenty-fifth part of a second of time and twenty-one inches of distance; the exposure of each was about the two-thousandth part of a second, and illustrate one single stride of the horse. The vertical lines were placed twenty-one inches apart; the lowest horizontal line represents the level of the track, the others elevations of four, eight, and twelve inches respectively. The negatives are entirely ‘untouched.’”

25. Eadweard J. Muybridge

UNTITLED

Muybridge also made the images into glass lantern slides that he projected in succession during lectures to educate the public about his findings on animal locomotion. Initially, Muybridge’s photographs were received with some skepticism and criticism because what the camera revealed was so different from what people thought they knew based on their own observations and the history of art.

26. Eadweard J. Muybridge

UNTITLED, FROM “HORSE IN MOTION” SERIES

1878

Muybridge also made the images into glass lantern slides that he projected in succession during lectures to educate the public about his findings on animal locomotion. Initially, Muybridge’s photographs were received with some skepticism and criticism because what the camera revealed was so different from what people thought they knew based on their own observations and the history of art.

27. Eadweard J. Muybridge

GALLOP; THOROUGHBRED BAY MARE - ANNIE G.

ca 1884-1887

The second image in this sequence shows the horse’s feet all off the ground at once but in a manner that was not anticipated. Normally when a horse was depicted running in a painting all feet were off the ground extended outward rather than tucked under as in this image.

28. Eadweard J. Muybridge

CAT GALLOPING

ca 1884-1887

“Irregular stride in 12 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

29. Eadweard J. Muybridge

DOG; TROTTING; MASTIFF- DREAD

ca 1884-1887

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

30. Eadweard J. Muybridge

OSTRICH IN FLYING-RUN (.052 SECOND), ONE-HALF STRIDE IN 8 PHASES

ca 1884-1887

“One-half stride in 8 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

31. Eadweard J. Muybridge

COCKATOO FLYING (.028 SECOND)

ca. 1884-1887

“One irregular flap of wings in 12 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

32. Eadweard J. Muybridge

ADJUTANT WALKING

ca. 1884-1887

“One-half stride in 9 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

33. Eadweard J. Muybridge

BACTRIAN CAMEL; RACKING

ca. 1884-1887

“One-half stride in 10 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

34. Eadweard J. Muybridge

BABOON; WALKING ON ALL-FOURS

ca. 1884-1887

“One stride in 15 phases”

The horse was the first of many animals that Muybridge photographed in motion. In 1884 the University of Pennsylvania funded Muybridge and provided him with an outdoor studio in West Philadelphia to photograph humans and animals in motion for a series called Animal Locomotion.

35. Eadweard J. Muybridge

ELEPHANT; WALKING

ca. 1884-1887

“Almost one stride. Time of stride: .9 second; length: 140” (3.5 metres)

Strides per mile: 452; 1 mile in less than 7 minutes”

36. Eadweard J. Muybridge

JUMPING; RUNNING STRAIGHT HIGH JUMP (SHOES)

ca. 1884-1887

Muybridge also photographed humans in motion. Many of his subjects were faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania and he also used himself as a model. While athletes provided a wide range of motions to record he did not exclude the many everyday actions performed by humans such as sitting, walking, bathing, climbing stairs, etc… Notice how similar the subject matter is to the Zoetrope strips (images 7-11).

37. Eadweard J. Muybridge

HEAD-SPRING, A FLYING PIGEON INTERFERING

ca. 1884-1887

Muybridge also photographed humans in motion. Many of his subjects were faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania and he also used himself as a model. While athletes provided a wide range of motions to record he did not exclude the many everyday actions performed by humans such as sitting, walking, bathing, climbing stairs, etc… Notice how similar the subject matter is to the Zoetrope strips (images 7-11).

38. Eadweard J. Muybridge

MAN WITH PICK AX

Muybridge also photographed humans in motion. Many of his subjects were faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania and he also used himself as a model. While athletes provided a wide range of motions to record he did not exclude the many everyday actions performed by humans such as sitting, walking, bathing, climbing stairs, etc… Notice how similar the subject matter is to the Zoetrope strips (images 7-11).

39. Eadweard J. Muybridge

JUMPING; OVER BOY'S BACK (LEAP-FROG)

ca. 1884-1887

Muybridge also photographed humans in motion. Many of his subjects were faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania and he also used himself as a model. While athletes provided a wide range of motions to record he did not exclude the many everyday actions performed by humans such as sitting, walking, bathing, climbing stairs, etc… Notice how similar the subject matter is to the Zoetrope strips (images 7-11).

40. Eadweard J. Muybridge

PLACING CHAIR, SITTING AND FLIRTING A FAN

ca. 1884-1887

Muybridge also photographed humans in motion. Many of his subjects were faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania and he also used himself as a model. While athletes provided a wide range of motions to record he did not exclude the many everyday actions performed by humans such as sitting, walking, bathing, climbing stairs, etc… Notice how similar the subject matter is to the Zoetrope strips (images 7-11).

41. Eadweard J. Muybridge

[MULE (RUTH) BUCKING AND KICKING]

Muybridge wanted to stop time in order to see what was not visible to the naked eye. But he and others quickly realized that his series of frozen moments could be used to recreate motion. Silhouettes were made from Muybridge’s images and used to create Zoetrope strips. This prompted Muybridge to create the Zoopraxiscope in 1879. Muybridge’s photographs (such as this image) were the basis for hand-painted silhouettes (such as image 42) on glass discs to be used in the Zoopraxiscope.

42. Eadweard J. Muybridge

“#29 MULE-BUCKING AND KICKING, 13 PHASES”, ZOOPRAXISCOPE DISC

1893

Studies in Zoopraxography arranged for the Zoopraxiscope by Edweard Muybridge

Muybridge wanted to stop time in order to see what was not visible to the naked eye. But he and others quickly realized that his series of frozen moments could be used to recreate motion. Silhouettes were made from Muybridge’s images and used to create Zoetrope strips. This prompted Muybridge to create the Zoopraxiscope in 1879. Muybridge’s photographs (such as the mule in image 41) were the basis for hand-painted silhouettes (such as this image) on glass discs to be used in the Zoopraxiscope.

43. Eadweard J. Muybridge (manufacturer)

ZOOPRAXISCOPE PROJECTOR (REPRODUCTION)

introduced in 1881

The Zoopraxiscope used interchangeable rotating glass discs, a projecting lantern, and another slotted rotating disc to act as a shutter. The basic design was very similar to the Phenakistoscope. It is one of the earliest versions of a motion picture projector.

44. Prof. Richer

PORTRAIT OF ÉTIENNE JULES MAREY

ca 1895

Étienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904) was a French scientist who was studying animal locomotion at the same time as Muybridge. He invented mechanical devices that would attach to an animal and graph it’s movements with ink and paper. In 1874 he published a book of his findings called Animal Mechanism: A Treatise on Terrestrial and Aerial Locomotion, which influenced Muybridge’s work. And Muybridge’s early photographs published in 1878 in turn influenced Marey who had not thought photography was a feasible tool for his research.

45. Étienne Jules Marey

ETUDE SUR LE VELOCIPEDE

Marey began his own experiments using photography to record locomotion. This image of a man riding a tricycle is reminiscent of Muybridge’s photographs.

46.

MAREY’S PHOTOGRAPHIC GUN

May 27, 1882

Illustration from Harper’s Weekly

Marey wanted to record motion on a single piece of film rather than using multiple cameras to record the images separately. He invented a photographic “gun” that could record twelve successive images around the perimeter of a single, circular glass plate. Yet he was still dissatisfied with the gap between each image.

47. Étienne Jules Marey

CHRONOPHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF A MAN POLE VAULTING

1890- 1891

Finally he came up with a solution. He replaced the rotating negative with a stationary one and he used a rotating, slotted shutter with variable speeds. During an exposure he left the lens open and the shutter would rotate exposing the same sheet of film multiple times. He called this multiple exposure on a single sheet a chronophotograph.

48.

MAREY’S BLACK SUIT

Marey was interested in obtaining precise measurements for his research so he devised a suit for subjects to wear while being photographed. The suit was black with white lines delineating specific body parts.

49.

MAREY’S MOTION STUDY USING BLACK SUIT

The dark suit blended in with the dark backdrop leaving the stark, white lines to graph the movement in a novel way that helped Marey study the mechanics of locomotion.

50.

LETTER FROM DICKSON TO EASTMAN CO.

W.K.L. Dickson was an inventor who worked at Thomas Edison’s laboratory in New Jersey. In this letter he requested Kodak roll film, which he used in his motion picture experiments. While films were shot and projected at many different speeds, 24 frames per second became the standard rate. This means that for every one second of film there are 24 individual photographs. That works out to 1,440 photographs for one minute of film. Therefore motion pictures required a lot of film in a format that delivered them sequentially and flexible roll film was the answer.

Transcript of letter:

From the Laboratory of Thomas A. Edison

Sept. 2nd, 1889

Eastman Dry Plate

Dear Sirs,

Enclosed please find sum of $2.50 P.O.O. due you for one roll Kodac [sic] film for which please accept thanks- I shall try some today and report- it looks splendid- I have succeeded in getting the substance in such straight, long pieces-

Sincerely yrs,

W. K. L. Dickson

51.

KINETOSCOPE (INTERIOR VIEW)

The Kinetoscope was another precursor to the modern motion picture projector. Dickson designed the Kinetoscope to run a long strip of film containing individual frames of images that appeared as a single continuous action. The filmstrip looped and was illuminated from within and viewed through the top of the machine. It was introduced to the public in 1893. Dickson also invented the Kinetograph, the camera that recorded the photographic images onto the film strip.

52.

KINETOSCOPE

This image shows a man using a Kinetoscope. Kinetoscope parlors became a popular form of entertainment in the United States and abroad.

53. Lumiére Brothers (manufacturer)

CINÉMATOGRAPHE

introduced December 28, 1895

The Kinetoscope had two great disadvantages—the film could only be viewed by one person at a time, and the film loop could only be so long, providing about a minute-long movie. Inventors in Europe started experimenting with projecting moving images and the Lumiére brothers, August and Louis, invented the Cinématographe. It was a motion picture camera, developer, and projector all in one. The Lumiéres’ major contribution was the use of an eclectic claw drive to move the film through the projector rather than the less satisfactory methods previously developed.

54.

CINÉMATOGRAPHE POSTER FEATURING THE LUMIÉRE BROTHERS

The Lumiére Brothers are also credited with giving the first public exhibition of moving pictures where admission was charged. On December 28, 1895 some 35 people paid one franc each for the show.

55. New York Times

PHOTOGRAPH OF GEORGE EASTMAN AND LOUIS LUMIÉRE

October 14, 1926

These final two images depict some of the most well-known men involved with the invention of motion pictures, George Eastman, Louis Lumiére, and Thomas Edison.

56. Unidentified Photographer

EASTMAN AND EDISON WITH MOTION PICTURE CAMERA

1928

While each made great contributions to the advancement of moving images, it was the combination of the work of many innovative people that brought about this enormously popular invention.