Edison’s publicity photo of his Kinetoscope.
Toronto. Like many of the inventions in the 1800s, more than one person came up with the same idea. Take the electric light. Edison is credited with the invention over here, but at the same time Swan in England is given the credit. Both were very aggressive but decided a merger in England was cheaper than litigation so the bulbs in England were made by Ediswan.
I always thought Edison was the inventor of the movie here and the Lumiere Brothers in France. The article from American Cinematographer cites Marey in France and Edison in America, plus inventors in other countries (although sources disagree who made the first movie, usually Edison or his staff is mentioned).
So sit back and enjoy the flick, no matter who came up with the idea first! And as you enjoy, think of my good friend George Dunbar. George found and shared this magazine article with us.
