Talk:Mutoscope

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"The popularity of the Kinetoscope was astounding. Not only did hundreds of Kinetoscope parlors (see Figure 21) open up across the country within the next three years, but as in all true business stories, success invited competition. The Mutoscope, although constructed in 1894, probably by Dickson himself, did not really become popular until 1897 when another machine from the Edison factory was laying the Kinetoscope to rest. The Mutoscope (Figure 22) did not use film to provide the spectator with the illusion of motion. Within the body of the machine, still photographs were mounted on individual cards in succession on one cylinder. When a penny or nickel (the price fluctuated) was deposited in the slot, each card in turn was flipped by the peephole and the illusion of motion was obtained. Slight variations of this machine still exist in penny arcades and at community fairs. Although the Mutoscope has had a longer life than its competitor, it is the Kinetoscope that is more important in the growth of motion pictures because it used film. The Mutoscope and the Kinetoscope shared one large problem. Each was a peep show, and only one person could be an audience at a time." (Kardish 21-22)