Two fencers pose with cross blades in this reconstruction (from stills) of one of the test films made by W.K.L. Dickson for the Edison labs.
To the public, there are landmarks in the history of movies that seem to encapsulate a long, drawn-out process, beginning in the late 18th century when someone made some photograms -- unfixed images -- that still exist. Edison's labs worked on motion pictures for half a decade before producing BLACKSMITH SCENE in 1893, and the first show was a year and a half later. Which most people take it as the moment the movies were invented. They weren't.
To the public, there are landmarks in the history of movies that seem to encapsulate a long, drawn-out process, beginning in the late 18th century when someone made some photograms -- unfixed images -- that still exist. Edison's labs worked on motion pictures for half a decade before producing BLACKSMITH SCENE in 1893, and the first show was a year and a half later. Which most people take it as the moment the movies were invented. They weren't.