The Bioscope (Oct-Dec 1913)

Tue Bioscore, NOVEMBER 27, 10913. 859 “THE BIOSCOPE” PARLIAMENT. Readers are invited to express their Opinions upon any subject of General Interest. Correspondence submitted for publication must be accompanied b the full name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, but as an evidence of good faith. Anonymous letters will be promptly consigned to the Waste Paper Basket. Publication of a letter must not be taken to imply that the views expressed are endorsed by the Editor. THE INVENTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY. To the Editor of THE BIoscopPe. Str,—I have read with considerable interest the full page article which recently appeared in your contemporary, the Evening News. I feel, however, that the value of the otherwise excellent article is detracted by the introduction of somewhat inaccurate historical details. For instance, it is mentioned that in 1897 films were developed on pin frames, and that Mr. Hepworth ‘‘ contrived a continuous system, which is the one now used.” Whether or not there are still as many adherents to the pin system as the continuous one, it would be unwise to say, but I have always been under the impression that the first person to use the drum for deve loping purposes was Mr. Friese-Greene, in the year 1890. That gentleman, however, cannot even claim to be the originator of the idea of using a drum for the more convenient handling of cinematograph film, the idea, I believe, emanating from Mr. T. Bolas, F.C.S. I have in my possession, in fact, a letter, dated October 6, 1890, from Mr. Bolas to Mr. FrieseGreene, in which the writer suggests the use of a drum, and attaches an interesting sketch of his suggestion. The introduction of so many cinematograph appliances is lost in a maze of different claims, and I think that the letter, to which I refer, should at least nail down the originator of the developing and drying Eo gle This brings me to another point. Your contemporary refers to Mr. Robert W. Paul as being the first man to project a moving picture on the screen. I believe it was in 1895 that Mr. Paul made his first projector. Is it not a fact that the first patent dealing with film cinematography was taken out in 1889 by FrieseGreene and Mortimer Evans, the former being the inventor, and that films taken by the patented apparatus were projected privately towards the close of that year? Certainly, in November of 1880, the Optical Magic Lantern Journal made reference to the invention, the same journal, in April, 1890, giving particulars, with diagrams. In point of fact, however, the first public demonstration of Friese-Greene’s taking and projecting apparatus was made before the Bath Photographic Society in Febru ary, 1890, followed shortly afterwards by a demonstration at Chelsea, both being recorded in the pages of The British Journal of Photography of that year. Either Edison, Paul, or one of the many other claimants may have been the first to make money out of cinematography, but it is an undisputed fact that to Mr. Friese-Greene goes the honour of being the first to patent and manufacture apparatus for projecting moving pictures on strips of celluloid, and to follow this up by actually photographing and projecting fims.—Yours, etc., James W. BarBER. 212a, Shaftesbury Avenue, W.C. November 22, 1913. P.S.—I enclose the illustration referred to above, trusting you may find room to reproduce. WHY NOT A TRADE EXCHANCE ? To the Editor of Tue Broscore. Sir,—As an exceedingly busy man—like most others in the Trade—I suffer considerably through the difficulty of finding heads of departments at various times without a previou: appointment, and other people often have the same difficulty with me. Original from NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY