1895 Lumière Cinématographe, configured as a projector
The George Eastman Museum holds a world-renowned collection of cinematographic technology, including motion picture cameras and projectors and early picture viewing systems. These objects trace the invention, development, and advancement of motion picture technology.
In 2021, the Eastman Museum received a major grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support the project Machines of Memory: Cataloging and Digitizing the Cinematographic Equipment Collection. The project goal is to catalog and digitize more than 1,400 objects from this collection so people all over the world can access information about the collection for free online.
GEM members are invited to this virtual talk with Technology Curator Todd Gustavson, who will highlight the historically significant items from the collection, such as the Edison Kinetoscope of 1894 (the world’s first 35mm motion picture viewer), the Lumière Cinématographe of 1895 (the world’s first 35mm motion picture camera and projector system), the Gaumont Elgéphone of 1906 (the world’s first 35mm sound synchronized motion picture projector), the Ciné-Kodak (the world’s first 16mm motion picture system), and the Technicolor three strip motion picture camera from 1932.