The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

« r Vol I. No. 6 THE PHONOSCOPE 7 ©ur battler T They are going to overload that Carson prize fight kinetoscope with responsibilities, and if the machine could only realize all that it is expected to do, it would collapse. It is announced to show, among a good many other things, that Corbett had the best of the fight all the way through, was 'making a chopping block" of Fitzsimmons' face and had him knocked out more than ten seconds in the sixth round; that the fatal punch in the fourteenth round was a "chance blow," and as much of a surprise to Fitzsimmons, who couldn't understand how he did it himself, as it was to Corbett who understood the trick still less, and that Corbett was counted out before the ten seconds were really up. It is also depended upon to prove that Fitzsimmons never was touched ; that all through the entire fourteen rounds, he was watching for an opportunity to land that "chance" blow, and that Corbett came very near dying in the ring from the effects of that terrible punch. The machine is not expected, however, to show the stakeholder in the act of paying the prize money over to Corbett. As in many public places, there are several phonographic machines in the big railroad station at Long Island City. They play when a nickel is dropped into the hungry slot and the trumpets are held to the ears. Lately one of these machines played the popular negro melody "All Coons Look Alike to Me," to a genuine Alabama coon, and those who were in the station at the time will not soon forget this little concert, although none but the coon heard a note of the music. It was at a popular train hour and the station was thronged with people, when a typical Southern darkey sauntered into the building. A long blue frock coat, a pair of light trousers which went almost twice around him and were well fringed at the bottoms, a broad-brimmed, grease-coated felt hat which had once been of a light color, and an odd pair of number twelve shoes, made up a costume which inspired a smile all 'round before he had a chance to say a word or do a thing. As the boys say charcoal would have made a white mark on his face and his ears were all that stopped his mouth from going clean around his head. Mr. Darkey jerked a huge brass watch out of one of his trouser's pockets, pried the case open and compared it with the big regulator in the station. Satisfied that he had some time to wile away, he began to look around to see the sights. Florist George Matthews, who has a beautiful array of cut flowers on a stand in the station, had the first whack at the darkey and juggled a diirfe out of him for a big yellow rose which he insisted upon having pinned into the yawning buttonhole on the lapel of the big sweeping blue coat. Then he buried his great flat nose into the rose and walked away to resume his explorations. After a couple of turns around the station, he brought up in front of one of the phonographs. He evidently mistook the thing for a corn sheller judging from the way in which he twisted the crank, but the more he twisted the more mystified he became. At last his curiosity got the best of whatever timidity he may have possessed and he hailed one of the doormen, who was passing, and inquired as to the nature of the machine. The darkey's big white eyes began to roll and his mouth flew open in amazement as the doorman unfolded the working plan of the machine and he decided to invest a nickel. The coin was dropped into the slot and with the trumpets jammed against his ears the Alabamian braced himself for whatever might follow. "Whir-r-r'' went the machine after its usual preparatory fashion, and the darkey got a better brace. Then there was another whir-r-r and an idea struck him. He removed one of the trumpets from his ears and shouted into it ' 'sing louder, I can't hear." Then the machine began to sing and none of the crowd which was watching the darkey could be deceived as to the exact time it began. His eyes glistened and danced in their sockets. His mouth gradually spread itself all over his face. Big drops of perspiration trickled down from under his hat and way down on the floor the big shoes began to show signs of life. Finally his whole body was in a wiggle and even the big yellow rose seemed to have become animated also. But it was too good to last. The end came and the darkey nearly collapsed. "Say, boss, is dat all dar is to it fo' a nickel?" he asked of the doorman. ' 'Yes, but you can put in another and have it all over again,", answered the man in brass buttons. "Golly! dat's what I'se goin' to do," chirped the delighted darkey, and he fished another coin out of the mysterious depths of those trouser's pockets and fed it to the machine. There was a repetition of the whir-r-r-r, a repetition of the song and a repetition of the circus for the spectators. Trains came in and trains went out but the darkey stuck to that machine. Nickel after nickel was freely fed into the greedy slot and it is not improbable that when the old brass watch ran down he was still doing a shuffle to the tune ' 'All Coons Look Alike to Me." A dark red phonograph belonging to Jacob Silver, of No. 8 Ludlow Street, broke loose the other day in Essex Market Court and shattered the dignity thereof into a thousand pieces. "Mister Johnsing,'' sang the phonograph, "Mister Johnsing." "Stop it !" cried Magistrate Wentworth. "O, Mr. Johnsing, turn me loose," went on the tuneful instrument. Detective Young, who had arrested the owner of the phonograph for collecting a crowd at Rivington and Essex Street, tried to stop the burst of melody. He was forced to hurry it out while it still called on "Mr. Johnsing" to "turn it loose." ; Jacob Silver was fined $2. The kinetoscope has broken out abroad. Not long ago I saw a picture of the King and Queen of Italy descending the steps of the Ouirinal and entering their carriage. It was a lifelike picture. Other notabilities have also been taken for exhibition purposes, but until recently the Prince of Wales escaped. Hereby hangs a tale which is sufficiently amusing to repeat. Not long ago an ingenious person at Cannes suggested to H. R. H. that it would be a good scheme if he allowed himself to be photographed by the new process on board his yacht Britannia. Albert Edward is nothing if not good natured and readily consented, stipulating that the photographs be exhibited only at the Imperial Institute, and that proceeds go to the Jubilee Hospital Fund. Accordingly the authorities of the Institute were ordered to send a photographer to take the series. Meantime an unscrupulous person heard of the proposal, and telegraphed to a photographer in England to go post-haste to Cannes and take his machinery with him. In a few days a letter was received on board the boat asking at what time H. R. H. would receive the photographer to take the scene on deck. An appointment was made for 10.30 a.m., at which time a little performance was gone through, wherein certain celebrities who happened to be handy were brought up and presented to the Prince, orders were given to the sailing master, and the usual routine of the Prince's morning gone through, showing a typical five minutes of his life on board the boat. The photographer went his way rejoicing. No sooner had the man got well out of town than Captain Carter of the yacht was surprised to receive a visit from another photographer bearing credentials from the Imperial Institute, representing that he came in re'sponse to the official invitation to take the pictures of the Prince. It turned out that the last arrival was the real article, and that the first had been a spurious and entirely unauthorized representative of the photographic art. Up to the last advices no one had plucked up courage to tell the Prince of the way in which he had been fooled. ' A nice little storm will burst over the heads of the unfortunates who were responsible for the mistake when the trick is discovered. Mr. Leonard Spencer gave a practical illustratration of Hunting's "Bureau" Story last month at the Columbia Co. 's rooms, using a piano instead of a bureau. Len was trying to move a piano, which was elevated about four feet from the floor. The piano objected and tmceremoniously flopped over on Leonard, using him as the filling of a sandwich with floor and piano sides. I am glad to say that with the exception of a few external bumps Leonard is "up and around" feeling as well as ever. Ever since the talking machine became a staple article of trade, and of practical use, the people interested have been crying for a trade journal. Now that they have got one in The Phonoscope, they amuse themselves by writing postals for sample copies. Why not subscribe and keep the manage ment better natured? Where Zhcy Mere Exhlbtteb Xast flfcontb Vitascope Appolo Hall, Paterson, N. J. Bioscope Austin & Stone's Museum, Boston, Mass. Verascope Academy of Music, New York; Grand Opera House, Chicago. Cinematographe Eden Musee, New York. Projectoscope Opera House, Lorain, O. ; Bartow, Fla. ; Academy of Music, Akron, 0.; Barton, Fresno, Cal. ; Assem bly Hall, Freeport, L. I.; Opera House, Youngstown, 0.; Park, Brooklyn. N. Y. Kinematographe Huber's Museum, New York. Biograph Willard Hall, Washington, D. C; Keith's Theatre, New York: Bijou, Philadelphia, Pa. Vitagraph Temple, Atlantic Highlands, N. J. Kinetoscope Auditorium, Reading, Pa. Cineograph Academy of Music, Richmond, Va. ; Schiller's Hall, Alexandria. Magniscope Belle Center, 0. ; Alpene, Mich.