Edison Kinetoscope with Kinetophone, 1912-1913
Add to SetSummary
Thomas Edison invented entire industries. By the 1890s, this included the phonograph, to record and play sound, and the kinetoscope, to display moving images. In the 1910s, he was able to synchronize projecting kinetoscopes with "kinetophone" phonographs, marrying the new film industry with the already robust phonograph industry. The kinetophone played huge "concert" cylinder records. This setup would have been used in a theater, though Edison also marketed it for home use.
Thomas Edison invented entire industries. By the 1890s, this included the phonograph, to record and play sound, and the kinetoscope, to display moving images. In the 1910s, he was able to synchronize projecting kinetoscopes with "kinetophone" phonographs, marrying the new film industry with the already robust phonograph industry. The kinetophone played huge "concert" cylinder records. This setup would have been used in a theater, though Edison also marketed it for home use.
Artifact
Kinetoscope
Date Made
1912-1913
Creators
Motion Picture Patents Company
Place of Creation
United States, New Jersey, Orange
United States, New York, New York
Creator Notes
Manufactured by Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Orange, NJ, in cooperation with the Motion Picture Patents Company, based in New York City.
Keywords
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
29.460.14
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Thomas Alva Edison.
Material
Metal
Iron (Metal)
Color
Black (Color)
Dimensions
Width: 25 in (Projector)
Height: 53.5 in (Projector, top film magazine attached)
Length: 45 in (Projector)
Depth: 13.5 in (Kinetograph (phonograph))
Weight: 74 lbs (Kinetograph (phonograph))
Width: 24 in (Phonograph horn)
Length: 33 in (Phonograph horn)
Weight: 166 lbs (Projector)
Width: 24 in (Kinetograph (phonograph))
Height: 21 in (Case of Kinetograph (phonograph))
Inscriptions
Projector: EDISON KINETOSCOPE . . . MFRS' SERIAL NO. 4435 SPECIAL LICENSE K590 Projector: EDISON KINETOPHONE . . . EDISON KINETOSCOPE SERIAL NO. K590 Synchronizer: EDISON KINETOPHONE . . . EDISON SYNCHRONIZER SERIAL NO. K534 Kinetophone Front Plate: EDISON KINETOPHONE/MANUFACTURED BY/THOMAS A. EDISON, INC., ORANGE, N.J., U.S.A./PATENTED IN THE UNITED STATES/MAY 31, 1898.../EDISON KINETOPHONOGRAPH SERIAL NO. K526
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