Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope

Edison originally filed his idea for the patent of the kintoscope on October 17, 1888, claiming that he would make a device that could both record and reproduce objects in motion.  Although Edison came up with the idea for the Kintoscope patent and began the inital experimentation process, he soon passed the assignment on the his assistant William Kennedy Laurie Dickinson who perform the majority of the work involved in bringing the patent to life.  The first demonstration of this new device took place May 20, 1891 and the patent was filed August 24, 1891. However, it was not until 1892 that the invention was finally complteted. In describing how it worked David Robinson writes:

It consisted of an upright wooden cabinet, 18 in. x 27 in. x 4 ft. high, with a peephole with magnifying lenses in the top...Inside the box the film, in a continuous band of approximately 50 feet, was arranged around a series of spools. A large, electrically driven sprocket wheel at the top of the box engaged corresponding sprocket holes punched in the edges of the film, which was thus drawn under the lens at a continuous rate. Beneath the film was an electric lamp, and between the lamp and the film a revolving shutter with a narrow slit. As each frame passed under the lens, the shutter permitted a flash of light so brief that the frame appeared to be frozen. This rapid series of apparently still frames appeared, thanks to the persistence of vision phenomenon, as a moving image. (From Peep Show to Palace, p. 34)

The Kinetoscope can now be seen as the beginning of the modern film era, and European culture during the early 1900's was quick to begin mass production of their version of Edison's patent.