Cinematograph

Lumiere brothers, France, patent of 1895. The camera-projector that invented cinema as an industry.

Overview

Auguste and Louis Lumiere patented their combined camera, printer, and projector in February 1895. The first public ticketed screening that December in Paris sent audiences reeling at an approaching train. Edison's Kinetoscope had shown films to one viewer at a time since 1893; the Lumieres projected to crowds and toured the world. Georges Melies bought one and built movie magic. The 1895 patent is the legal birth certificate of the film industry.