The German: Elektrischen Schnellseher (from German: 'Electrical Quick-Viewer') or Electrotachyscope was an early motion picture system developed by chronophotographer Ottomar Anschütz between 1886 and 1894. He made at least seven different versions of the machine, including a projector, a peep-box viewer and several versions with illuminated glass photographs on a rotating wheel viewed on a wide milk glass screen by up to seven people at the same time.
Before working on chronophotography and motion pictures, Anschütz had already received much acclaim for his instantaneous pictures of flying storks in 1884.
In 1885, Anschütz made his first chronophotographs of horses, sponsored by the Prussian minister of Culture. Initially, he used 12 cameras, later on 24. The quality of his pictures was generally regarded to be much higher than that of pioneer Eadweard Muybridge's chronophotographic series. He continued with studies of horses in motion at the (Royal Military Institute) in Hanover during 1886.[1]
From the beginning, Anschütz wanted to reproduce the recorded actions and worked on devices to enable this. In 1886, he built a machine with a wheel that had twenty-four, glass plate photographs attached to its circumference. The pictures were illuminated from behind by a fast succession of electric flashes from a synchronized Geissler tube, while the wheel was hand-cranked to rotate at a speed of approximately 30 frames per second. About four spectators could watch the images on a wide milk glass screen in a wall in a small darkened room. Anschütz introduced the first successful model from 19 to 21 March 1887 at the Kultusministerium (Ministry of Culture) in Berlin, receiving much praise from invited colleagues, politicians, and scientists. From 16 July to 26 August 1887, the moving pictures were screened to around 15,000 paying customers at Stadtbahnbogen 21 in the Ausstellungspark in Berlin. During the next few years, Anschütz demonstrated his electrical Schnellseher at many international exhibitions, fairs and conventions, visiting Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Dresden in 1887, Brussels and Florence in 1888 and Kassel, Saint Petersburg, New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia in 1889.[1] [2] [3]
In 1888, Anschütz moved to a studio at Charlottenstr. 59 in Berlin, where frequent demonstrations of Schnellsehers took place to at least 1900 (and less frequently until years later).
Early January 1890, Anschütz presented a new type of chronophotography on the glass wheel Schnellseher to emperor Wilhelm II's family: "Sprechende Porträts" (Speaking Portraits). He introduced it publicly on 16 January 1890 at the Photographic Association in Berlin.
At the same 16 January 1890 presentation, Anschütz introduced a much smaller Schnellseher in a cabinet that could be mounted to a wall or otherwise placed at eye-height. By the end of the year, he was negotiating with Siemens & Halske about the commercial manufacture of such machines. In 1891, Siemens & Halske started production of a coin-operated peep-hole Electrotachyscope, of which approximately 152 copies were made. This version had eighteen to twenty-four, celluloid pictures in a disc. It was demonstrated at the Elektrotechnischen Messe in Frankfurt on 16 May 1891 and exhibited there from 18 July to December, with over 17,000 spectators in the first 2.5 months. Models were demonstrated or installed in Berlin, Warschau, Amsterdam, Brussels und New York. The machine was licensed to Joe Livingston for Schwarz & Co in New York for the US since 9 September 1891, and to Edgar Cohen for worldwide exploitation (except for Germany and the US) since 19 October 1892 (as Electrical Wonder Company from 12 November 1892 to 2 December 1893). Electrotachyscope automats were installed in popular venues in New York, in Paris, in Boston, at The Crystal Palace in London, at the Berlin Zoo, and in more cities. About 34,000 people came to view the motion pictures in July and August 1892 at the Ausstellungspark in Berlin.[1] The Elektrotachyscope was exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 as "Greatest Wonder of the World". These machines may have been mistaken for Edison's long-awaited Kinetoscopes that were planned to be installed at the fair, but seem never to have arrived.[3] [4]
Before Siemens & Halske were involved, Anschütz had also developed an automated cylindrical Schnellseher. It had six milk glass screens, each showing a different scene. This Elektro-tachyscope was shown to paying spectators in Vienna in November 1890, and probably in Brussels in 1891.[5]
In 1893, the Edison Manufacturing Company started the wide distribution of their long-awaited Kinetoscope, which had been in slow development since 1888. After initial experiments based on phonograph cylinders, they had shortly worked on a design based on the Schnellseher automat. Their main ambition was to enable longer motion pictures that ideally would reproduce opera performances in combination with the phonograph. The disc format had therefore been abandoned and experiments continued with celluloid film strips. The eventual coin-operated peep-box Kinetoscope automats did show relatively long scenes, but the company was unable to offer a combination with sound.
When the Electrical Wonder Company went under in 1893, it left Anschütz with a large debt with Siemens & Halske for large orders of Schnellsehers. Siemens & Halske started to commercially exhibit the remaining 52 copies themselves as an attempt to lift some of Anschutz' debt and helped him with the development of his new project that aimed to project motion pictures on a large screen.[6]
On 6 November 1894, Anschütz patented a projector with two intermittently rotating large disks and continuous light. On 25, 29 and 30 November 1894, he introduced his new device with two linked discs projecting the moving images on a screen in the darkened Grand Auditorium of a Post Office Building in Berlin. From 22 February to 30 March 1895 commercial 1,5-hour program of 40 different scenes was screened for audiences of 300 people at the old Reichstag and received around 4,000 visitors.[7] [8] [9]
In 1895, other motion picture pioneers entered the market of motion pictures projected on large screens, including Max and Emil Skladanowsky with their Bioscop, and Auguste and Louis Lumière with their cinematograph. Their films were much longer than the Schnellseher picture loops and after 1895 Anschütz' career in motion pictures was diminished to the sales of home model Tachyscopes at his studio.
Inventory of known presentations of Schnellsehers[9] [1] [5] [8]
| start | end | venue/event | location | device | audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kultusministerium demonstration | German Empire (Berlin, Unter dem Linden 4 (mezzanine)) | wheel | invited photographers, scientists, politicians | ||
| Ausstellungspark, daily commercial screenings | German Empire (Berlin, Stadtbahnbogen 21) | wheel | paying customers | ||
| Naturforscherversammlung convention demonstration | German Empire (Wiesbaden) | wheel | invited scientists | ||
| Verein zur Pflege der Photographie und verwandter Künste, two demonstrations + lecture | German Empire (Frankfurt) | wheel | invited photographers and artists | ||
| Polytechnische Gesellschaft, exhibition | German Empire (Frankfurt, Polytechnische Gesellschaft auditorium) | wheel | |||
| Kunstgewerbehalle | German Empire (Dresden, Kunstgewerbehalle) | wheel | |||
| Anschütz studio, installation with regular presentations, sales | German Empire (Berlin, Charlottenstrasse 59) | all variations? | customers | ||
| Grand Concours International des Sciences et de l'Industrie, exhibition[10] | Belgium, Brussels | wheel | |||
| photographic exhibition | Italy (Florence) | wheel | |||
| C. B. Richards & Son, regular screenings | United States (New York City, 3 East 14 Street) | wheel | photographic supply store customers? | ||
| Königlichen Kriegsakademie, Anschütz exhibition | German Empire (Berlin, Dorotheenstraße) | wheel | |||
| Hunting, Fishing and Sports Exhibition | German Empire (Kassel) | wheel | |||
| Exhibition for Photo Dealers and Manufacturers | United States (Boston) | wheel | |||
| photography exhibition | Russian Empire (Saint Petersburg) | wheel | |||
| ? | United States (Philadelphia) | wheel | |||
| Photographic Association, introduction automat + "Sprechende Porträt" | German Empire (Berlin) | automat + wheel? | |||
| private introduction of "Sprechende Porträt" | German Empire (Berlin) | wheel | Wilhelm I’s family | ||
| k. k. Graphischer Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, introduction[11] | Austria-Hungary (Vienna, Westbahnstrasse 25) | cylinder | Josef Maria Eder and invited audience | ||
| [12] | G. v. d. Lippe, Elektro-Tachyskop,[13] daily commercial exhibition (10 am – 8 pm) | Austria-Hungary (Vienna, Parkring 2) | cylinder | paying customers (30 kreuzer) | |
| ? | German Empire, (Weimar) | cylinder | |||
| Panorama International, daily demonstration Elektro-tachyskop[14] | Hungary (Budapest, Andrässystraße I5) | cylinder? | |||
| Elektrotechnischen Messe, automat introduction | German Empire (Frankfurt) | automat | |||
| Elektrotechnischen Messe, daily exhibition (10 am – 9 pm) | German Empire (Frankfurt, Hall for Science and Medicine) | automat | 14,858 paid viewings (10 pfennig) until 25 August, over 17.000 by 31 August | ||
| international photography exhibition | Belgium (Brussels) | cylinder? | |||
| photography exhibition | The Netherlands (Amsterdam) | automat | |||
| Stanislaw Jurkowski exhibition | Poland (Warsaw) | automat | |||
| several exhibitions | German Empire (Berlin) | automat | |||
| Ausstellungspark, daily exhibition | German Empire (Berlin, Stadtbahnbogen 21] | automat | 16,618 paying customers in July and 17,271 in August | ||
| The Crystal Palace, permanent installation of two to twelve machines | United Kingdom (London, The Crystal Palace) | automat | |||
| International Exposition of Photography, two machines installed | France (Paris) | automat | |||
| Eden Musée, five machines installed | United States (New York City, 23rd Street) | automat | |||
| Koster and Bial's Music Hall, one machine installed | United States (New York City, 34th Street and Broadway) | automat | |||
| Am. Inst. Dur. Prdkts, twelve machines installed | United States (New York City) | automat | |||
| Two machines installed | United States (Boston) | automat | |||
| Electric Wonder exhibition,[15] Twelve machines | United Kingdom (London, 425 Strand, later at various Charing Cross addresses) | automat | |||
| Hohenzollern Gallery | German Empire (Berlin, Hohenzollern Gallery) | automat | |||
| Berlin Zoo, four machines | German Empire (Berlin, Zoologischer Garten) | automat | |||
| Leipzig Garten, two machines | German Empire (Berlin) | automat | |||
| Two machines | German Empire (Hamburg) | automat | |||