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THE CENTENARY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MOTION PICTURE*
EDWARD EPSTEAN**
January 7, 1939, marked the centenary of the day when Arago communicated to the French Academy of Sciences news of the invention by Daguerre of what was to be known as the daguerreotype.
At the suggestion of the Societe Fran$aise de Photographie that ceremonies and meetings be held by scientific and engineering bodies throughout the world to commemorate this Centenary, the Atlantic Coast Section of the SMPE devoted its January, 1939, meeting to two presentations: the one that follows, by Edward Epstean, describing the historical background of Daguerre' s time, as related to photography, or "light writing"] and the second by Beaumont Newhall, describing more in detail the work of Daguerre and his process.
The erroneous popular idea that engineers are mechanics, with no interest in the history or philosophy of their profession is, I am sure, not held by the members of this Society. I do not hesitate, therefore, on this Centenary of the "Discovery of Photography," to address you on this subject, tracing the history and progress of the art leading to your specialized science of motion picture engineering.
Motion pictures, as we know them today, were originally called "animated photographs" and later "moving pictures."
Robert Hunt, the English professor of physical science, wrote in 1854 : "The progress of discovery is ordinarily slow, and it often happens that a great fact is allowed to lie dormant for years, or for ages, which, when eventually revived, is found to render a fine interpretation of some of Nature's harmonious phenomena and to minister to the wants or the pleasures of existence. Of this position, Photography is peculiarly illustrative."
The universal application of photography, which ranges from the hobby of the amateur on through the wide fields of science and industry, might suffice to arouse in any one the desire for a short study of its antecedents and its early development. This year is extremely
*Presented at a meeting of the Atlantic Coast Section, January 11, 1939. ** New York. N. Y.
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