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Kinetoscope (English Wikipedia)

Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Kinetoscope" in English language version.

refsWebsite
Global rank English rank
6loc.gov
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6thehenryford.org
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4victorian-cinema.net
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2uspto.gov
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2friesegreene.com
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1measuringworth.com
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1archive.org
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1filmsound.org
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1sensesofcinema.com
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1web.archive.org
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archive.org

filmsound.org

friesegreene.com

  • Rossell (2022) calls it "the first known public projection of motion pictures in the United States" (pp. 62–63). Musser (1994) uses nearly identical language (p. 94). There are old claims that one Jean Acmé LeRoy projected films in New York to an invited audience in February 1894 and to paying customers in New Jersey in February 1895. See Gosser (1977) for a discussion of the dubious nature of these claims (pp. 228–29). While Braun (1992) states that "the Cinématographe LeRoy made its public appearance on 11 April 1895 in New York" (p. 260), Rossell (2022) summarizes the case against LeRoy's "great deception" (p. 50). The claim by Lipton (2021) that the film presented at the April 21 press screening was that of the boxing match featured in the Eidoloscope's first commercial presentation the following month (p. 141) is clearly wrong; Lipton himself says the bout was shot on May 4 (p. 140). Rossell (2022) confirms that shooting date and cites a Sun description of the press screening as involving a film of boys playing (pp. 62–63). An image from the film in Musser (1994, p. 96) shows what appears to be two men playing like boys—they have been identified as Lauste's teenage son, Emile, and a workshop assistant. For identifications: Domankiewicz, Peter (May 20, 2020). "Happy 125th Birthday, Cinema! Part 2". William Friese-Greene & Me. Retrieved November 15, 2022. For description of Emile as "teenage": Lipton (2021), p. 140.
  • Musser (1994), pp. 91–96; Rossell (2022), pp. 58, 62–64; Domankiewicz, Peter (May 20, 2020). "Happy 125th Birthday, Cinema! Part 2". William Friese-Greene & Me. Retrieved November 15, 2022. See also Ramsaye (1986), ch. 9–10. Musser, referring to the film's "eight minutes of action," describes them as comprising four 90-second rounds interspersed with 30-second rest periods (p. 94); this sums to seven-and-a-half minutes—there may have been ring entrances, referee instructions, or other opening or closing pendants to the action. It is also possible that the film was projected at a slower speed than it was shot (though the reverse was more often true in the pre–sound film era). Rossell states that the show lasted 12 minutes and indicates that it included another film, of a horse race (p. 64). Domankiewicz implies that the Griffo–Barnett bout was initially screened alone and later joined by a variety of different films—first The Sidewalks of New York (featuring an organ grinder and children at play), then the horse race, and eventually wrestling contests and a vaudeville dance act.

loc.gov

  • "Origins of Motion Pictures: The Kinetoscope". Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  • Dickson Greeting, "Men boxing", and "Newark athlete". "Collection Items". Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 22, 2022. The work by Musser referenced in each of the individual film pages is Edison Motion Pictures, 1890–1900: An Annotated Filmography (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998).
  • Hendricks (1966), pp. 6–8; Musser (1994), p. 78. Hendricks, who tested eighteen Kinetoscope films in his personal collection, demonstrated that "[i]n no case did the Maria camera operate as high as 46–48 frames per second," as some suggest (p. 6); he identifies the "average rate" (mode, not mean) as "38–40 frames per second" (p. 7). Multiple sources incorrectly claiming 46 fps as the standard practical rate may be adduced; Burns (1998), for example, describes a "picture rate of 46 frames per second [that] restricted the viewing time to about 15 seconds" (p. 74). Dickson himself later gave varying accounts of the camera's rate—on one occasion he said it was "about 40 to the second"; on another, that it was between 25 and 46 fps. According to his 1907 account, the rate was 46 fps—though at one point matters are further confused by what appears to be an unintended suggestion of a functional rate of 42 fps (part 3). The Library of Congress/Inventing Entertainment website makes accessible online video copies of many Kinetoscope films, including four shot with the 35 mm Kinetograph between January and March 1894. The library provides descriptions of the films, including running time and picture rate, again based on Musser's 1998 Edison Motion Pictures (all retrieved November 23, 2022):

    Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze (aka Fred Ott's Sneeze): filmed c. Jan. 2–7, 1894; 5 seconds at 16 fps
    Athlete with wand: filmed Feb. 1894; 37 seconds at 16 fps
    Sandow (the one of these four films to be shown at the April 14 commercial premiere): filmed Mar. 6, 1894; 40 seconds at 16 fps
    Carmencita: filmed c. Mar. 10–16, 1894; 21 seconds at 30 fps

    As noted, Hendricks (1966) gives the same speed for Sandow. However, he lists both Fred Ott's Sneeze and Carmencita at 40 fps (he does not discuss "Athlete with wand") (p. 7). The Library of Congress catalog does support Hendricks's assertion that no Kinetoscope film was shot at 46 fps.

  • Musser (1994), p. 82; Rossell (2022), p. 51. Camera speed confirmed by Hendricks (1966), p. 7; "Leonard-Cushing fight". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2022. Hendricks quotes two contemporary newspaper reports describing a rate of 46 fps (pp. 92, 95); this seems clearly incorrect, based on the camera's mechanical potential rather than its practical application. Confusingly, Hendricks himself refers in his description of the film to "frames flying by the camera gate at a rate of 40 per second" (p. 96). The newspaper accounts both state that 150 feet of film were shot of each round, a total of 900 feet. Hendricks makes a detailed case that, rather than 150 feet, each round was likely recorded on 126 feet worth of exposed film (p. 96). The Edison film catalog, however, does claim 150 feet for each round. See "Leonard-Cushing fight". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  • Ramsaye (1986), ch. 8–9; Musser (1994), pp. 82–84; "Leonard-Cushing fight". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  • "Early Edison Experiments with Sight and Sound". Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 24, 2022.

measuringworth.com

sensesofcinema.com

  • Rossell (2022), pp. 2 passim, 66 passim; Neupert (2022), pp. 23–26; Braun (1992), pp. 193–94. Barber, Stephen (October 2010). "The Skladanowsky Brothers: The Devil Knows". Senses of Cinema. No. 56. Retrieved November 10, 2022.

thehenryford.org

  • "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'The Butterfly Dance,' 1894-1895". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 21, 2022. Spehr (2000), pp. 3–4. For individual frames and a video of the entire film, see "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'The Butterfly Dance,' 1894-1895 [alt]". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 21, 2022. A September 29, 1894, order from a London Kinetoscope parlor demonstrates that Moore had already performed at least three different dances for Edison; the order lists Anna Belle Sun Dance, Anna Belle Serpentine Dance, and Anna Belle Butterfly Dance. Additional versions of at least Serpentine Dance were subsequently filmed. Hendricks (1966), pp. 112, 129. Some authors apparently mistake the serpentine dance for the butterfly and vice versa. In the present case, Moore is wearing butterfly wings on her back as part of her costume. For samples of the serpentine dance, see Hendricks (1966), illustrations (following p. 143) 13, 15.
  • Spehr (2000), pp. 3–4. Along with Spehr, who has made the closest study of the development of the Kinetoscope film gauge, the historical consensus is that it was 35 mm. Two leading scholars, however, are not part of this consensus. Hendricks (1966) states of the commercial version of the device: "The width of the Kinetoscope sprockets was 1 7/16″, or 36.5mm." Noting the similarity of this width to that of "the earliest days of [Dickson's] Kinetoscope work...35.56mm", he continues: "All these sizes, 39.1, 36.5 and 35.56 millimeters, show how closely the size of early motion pictures was dictated by the size of the film available. They also show how we arrived at our present 35mm width" (p. 73 n. 17). In what manner these various sizes (this is Hendricks's sole mention of 39.1 mm) show how 35 mm was arrived at is a mystery. Musser (1994) describes the Kinetoscope's "1½-inch vertical feed system (the basis for today's 35-mm film gauge)" (p. 72). He later writes of the Lumières' Cinématographe that it "used 35-mm film, a width almost identical to the 1½-inch gauge introduced by Edison" (p. 135). "Almost identical" perhaps, but not practically so: 35 mm and 38 mm (1 1/2 inch) film are not compatible. The Henry Ford has four separate samples of original Kinetoscope films: it measures each as 1.375 inches in width—that is, 1 3/8 inches or precisely 34.925 mm. "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'Blacksmith Scene,' 1893". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022. "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'The Butterfly Dance,' 1894-1895". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 21, 2022. "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'The Butterfly Dance,' 1894-1895 [alt]". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 21, 2022. "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'The Strong Man,' 1895". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  • "Edison Kinetoscope Peepshow, circa 1894". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022. "Edison Kinetoscope, circa 1894". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022. Hendricks (1966), illustration 2. Patent historian Stephen van Dulken (2004) errs twice, describing a shutter with "slits" that is located between the lens and the peephole (p. 64).
  • Rossell (2022), p. 47; Lipton (2021), pp. 130–31, 148. The duration of a Blacksmith Scene viewing is unclear. Baldwin (2001) says "thirty seconds" (p. 238), the figure also reported by the Scientific American at the time (see Hendricks [1966], p. 38). Lipton (2021) speaks of "the 20-second film" (p. 131). Musser (2004) says "fifteen seconds" (p. 16). As described later in the main text of the present article, at this point in the development of the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope, according to most accounts the maximum length of any film made with the system was 50 feet, meaning a maximum running time of about 50 seconds at the camera's slowest recorded speed, but only about 20 seconds at the camera's most common speed of 40 frames per second (see Hendricks [1966], pp. 6–8). And, as Hendricks reports, the actual filmstrip was probably not 50 feet, or 800 frames, long; Edison described it as containing "about 700" images (p. 36). On the other hand, Braun (1992) states that an early Kinetoscope movie could last 40 seconds (presumably at 40 fps) because the film was configured as a loop (p. 191). Why a loop could not present a motion picture of boundless duration goes unexplained. Indeed, on the next page, she describes the film in an 1894 Kinetoscope as "about forty-five feet in length...in the form of an endless loop moving continuously" (p. 192). The version of Blacksmith Scene made available online by The Henry Ford runs 40 seconds without a loop. The effective presentation speed is not stated. "Edison Kinetoscope Film, 'Blacksmith Scene,' 1893". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 23, 2022. Spehr (2008) notes that "at least three blacksmith subjects were made, one in 1891, a second in 1892? and the final one in 1893" (p. 212).
  • Musser (1994), p. 81. For the height, see "Edison Kinetoscope Peepshow, circa 1894". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022. The 48.5-inch height includes the 3.5-inch-tall flanged eyepiece. To calculate the height of the latter, see the description of The Henry Ford's second Kinetoscope: "Height: 45 in (missing top component)." "Edison Kinetoscope, circa 1894". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  • Stross (2007), pp. 228–29; Zielinski (1999), p. 190; Musser (1991), pp. 473–74; "Pic of the Month". The Henry Ford. November 1999. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2006.. In Musser's description, the "21mm strip contained three 5.7mm images across its width." The Henry Ford describes the strip as "22-mm in width." See also Bealmear, Bart (December 18, 2013). "Home Projector Wars". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022.

uspto.gov

ppubs.uspto.gov

  • Edison (1891a), p. 1 [p. 333 in Light and Movement]. See also "Document ID US 0589168 A". Patent Public Search. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. August 31, 1897. ([Search] 493,426 [AND] Edison). Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  • Hendricks (1961), pp. 136–37. Braun (1992) explains, "except for the device used to stop and start the moving film, ... all the parts of the application describing the camera were ultimately disallowed because of previous inventors' claims" (p. 191). A patent, number 589,168, for a complete Kinetograph camera, one substantially different from that described in the original applications, was issued on August 31, 1897. Musser (1994), pp. 238–39. See also Spehr (2000), p. 18; Van Dulken (2004), p. 64; Hendricks (1961), pp. 133–34; "Kinetograph Patent Diagram". Who's Who in Victorian Cinema. August 31, 1897. Retrieved November 6, 2022. "Document ID US 0589168 A". Patent Public Search. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. August 31, 1897. ([Search] 493,426 [AND] Edison). Retrieved November 6, 2022. (Note that van Dulken makes a total botch of describing the Kinetoscope and Kinetograph patent history in his earlier Inventing the 19th Century: 100 Inventions that Shaped the Victorian Age from Aspirin to the Zeppelin [New York: New York University Press, 2001], p. 126.)

victorian-cinema.net

  • Rossell (1998), p. 21; Herbert, Stephen. "Charles-Émile Reynaud". Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  • Edison (1891b), diagrams 1, 2 [pp. 342, 343 in Light and Movement]. Diagram 1, an overhead view of the apparatus looking down on the horizontally running filmstrip, also indicates that the shutter passes over the film—whether directly above it or over the lens as well is unclear. A fourth diagram [p. 345 in Light and Movement] shows Edison's proposed stereoscopic film projection system: here the shutter is definitively placed between the projection lens and the screen; in an alternate configuration, depicted in an insert diagram, the shutter may run through "a slit in the body of the lens" itself (p. 2 [p. 340 in Light and Movement]). A simplified version of Edison (1891b), diagram 1—lacking both diagram key numbers and patent application data—is available online at Who's Who in Victorian Cinema. The large dotted circle represents the shutter.
  • Hendricks (1961), pp. 136–37. Braun (1992) explains, "except for the device used to stop and start the moving film, ... all the parts of the application describing the camera were ultimately disallowed because of previous inventors' claims" (p. 191). A patent, number 589,168, for a complete Kinetograph camera, one substantially different from that described in the original applications, was issued on August 31, 1897. Musser (1994), pp. 238–39. See also Spehr (2000), p. 18; Van Dulken (2004), p. 64; Hendricks (1961), pp. 133–34; "Kinetograph Patent Diagram". Who's Who in Victorian Cinema. August 31, 1897. Retrieved November 6, 2022. "Document ID US 0589168 A". Patent Public Search. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. August 31, 1897. ([Search] 493,426 [AND] Edison). Retrieved November 6, 2022. (Note that van Dulken makes a total botch of describing the Kinetoscope and Kinetograph patent history in his earlier Inventing the 19th Century: 100 Inventions that Shaped the Victorian Age from Aspirin to the Zeppelin [New York: New York University Press, 2001], p. 126.)
  • Hendricks (1966), pp. 56, 59–60 n. 16, 60; Musser (1994), p. 78. Anthony, Barry; McKernan, Luke; Herbert, Stephen. "Ena Bertoldi (Beatrice Mary Claxton)". Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Retrieved November 22, 2022. Brown, Richard. "Eugen Sandow (Frederick Muller)". Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Retrieved November 22, 2022. As noted below, most of the films were probably shot at or near 40 frames per second (fps) and presumably played back at that speed. Sandow, however, was shot at 16 fps, at which speed it lasted 40 seconds. If all of the Kinetoscopes in the parlor were set to play at 40 fps, Sandow would have run 16 seconds. See Hendricks (1966), pp. 6–8.

web.archive.org

  • Stross (2007), pp. 228–29; Zielinski (1999), p. 190; Musser (1991), pp. 473–74; "Pic of the Month". The Henry Ford. November 1999. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2006.. In Musser's description, the "21mm strip contained three 5.7mm images across its width." The Henry Ford describes the strip as "22-mm in width." See also Bealmear, Bart (December 18, 2013). "Home Projector Wars". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 22, 2022.