Herman Casler
Encyclopedia
Herman Casler — American inventor (Sandwich, Illinois
, March 12, 1867 – Canastota, New York
, July 20, 1939), was co-founder of the partnership called the K.M.C.D. Syndicate, along with W.K-L. Dickson, Elias Koopman, and Henry Marvin, which eventually was incorporated into the American Mutoscope Company
in December 1895.
, next proposed that they work on a peephole film viewing device superior to Edison's Kinetoscope
machine.
Casler, following Dickson's proposal, invented the "Mutoscope
", which displayed short films through flip-cards rotated by a hand crank that could be slowed at the operator's will, unlike Edison's motorized Kinetoscope, in which films were viewed through actual 35 mm film. The prototype of the "Mutograph" camera was completed in November 1894, first tested with film in June 1895, and the first official Mutoscope films were made in August 1895. To avoid infringement on Edison's motion picture patents, the Mutograph camera used continuous movement friction rollers to move 68 mm film into the camera, instead of intermittent movement by sprockets as Edison's 35 mm camera did. Casler's patents, which he assigned to American Mutoscope in January 1896, were used as security for financing the new company.
The Mutoscope became as popular in nickelodeon parlors as the Kinetograph. However, the first public demonstration of projected motion pictures in the United States had already occurred in April 1895. Casler then designed the Biograph Projector, which was introduced on a tour of vaudeville houses in September-October 1896. The 68 mm film that Casler's camera and projector used offered four times the image area of Edison's 35 mm film, a quality improvement noted by early viewers. Both the Mutoscope and Biograph had great success. The company name was changed to American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
in 1899.
Casler helped develop a portable hand-cranked camera in 1900 to replace the bulky, motor-operated camera used until then. After Biograph switched to 35 mm film production in 1902, and the number of frames per second was halved, Casler also helped John Pross to develop a three-blade projector shutter that greatly reduced flicker in the projected image. Casler was associated with Biograph until 1921 in the design and manufacture of motion picture cameras, projectors, automatic printing machines, and other special machines associated with the production of motion pictures.
Casler was raised in Fort Plain, New York
, and served as an apprentice to his cousin, machinist and inventor Charles E. Lipe, founder of the C. E. Lipe Machine Shop
in Syracuse, New York
from 1889 to 1893. During 1893—1895, Casler worked as a draftsman
for the General Electric Co., in Schenectady, New York
, designing electric rock drills. He was superintendent of the Marvin Electric Drill Co. of Canastoda, New York, in 1895—1896, with Harry Marvin as his employer. Marvin and Casler formed the Marvin & Casler Co. in 1896 to manufacture the Mutoscope and other Casler inventions, notably penny arcade machines. Casler later became sole owner of Marvin & Casler, which he sold in 1919. He retired in 1926, but continued to serve as a consulting engineer to a number of corporations, and filed his last patent in 1937, two years before his death.
Sandwich, Illinois
Sandwich is a city in DeKalb, Kendall, and LaSalle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 6,509 at the 2000 census. The 2008 population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau for the city is 7,337.-History:...
, March 12, 1867 – Canastota, New York
Canastota, New York
Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,425 at the 2000 census.The Village of Canastota is in the south part of the Town of Lenox.- History :...
, July 20, 1939), was co-founder of the partnership called the K.M.C.D. Syndicate, along with W.K-L. Dickson, Elias Koopman, and Henry Marvin, which eventually was incorporated into the American Mutoscope Company
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
in December 1895.
Biography
Casler, Dickson, and Marvin had worked together in 1893 on a detective camera the size of a watch called the Photoret. Dickson, who at the time was working for Thomas EdisonThomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, next proposed that they work on a peephole film viewing device superior to Edison's Kinetoscope
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
machine.
Casler, following Dickson's proposal, invented the "Mutoscope
Mutoscope
frame|right|An 1899 trade advertisementThe Mutoscope was an early motion picture device, patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894. Like Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope it did not project on a screen, and provided viewing to only one person at a time...
", which displayed short films through flip-cards rotated by a hand crank that could be slowed at the operator's will, unlike Edison's motorized Kinetoscope, in which films were viewed through actual 35 mm film. The prototype of the "Mutograph" camera was completed in November 1894, first tested with film in June 1895, and the first official Mutoscope films were made in August 1895. To avoid infringement on Edison's motion picture patents, the Mutograph camera used continuous movement friction rollers to move 68 mm film into the camera, instead of intermittent movement by sprockets as Edison's 35 mm camera did. Casler's patents, which he assigned to American Mutoscope in January 1896, were used as security for financing the new company.
The Mutoscope became as popular in nickelodeon parlors as the Kinetograph. However, the first public demonstration of projected motion pictures in the United States had already occurred in April 1895. Casler then designed the Biograph Projector, which was introduced on a tour of vaudeville houses in September-October 1896. The 68 mm film that Casler's camera and projector used offered four times the image area of Edison's 35 mm film, a quality improvement noted by early viewers. Both the Mutoscope and Biograph had great success. The company name was changed to American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
in 1899.
Casler helped develop a portable hand-cranked camera in 1900 to replace the bulky, motor-operated camera used until then. After Biograph switched to 35 mm film production in 1902, and the number of frames per second was halved, Casler also helped John Pross to develop a three-blade projector shutter that greatly reduced flicker in the projected image. Casler was associated with Biograph until 1921 in the design and manufacture of motion picture cameras, projectors, automatic printing machines, and other special machines associated with the production of motion pictures.
Casler was raised in Fort Plain, New York
Fort Plain, New York
Fort Plain is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 2,288. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution....
, and served as an apprentice to his cousin, machinist and inventor Charles E. Lipe, founder of the C. E. Lipe Machine Shop
C. E. Lipe Machine Shop
The C. E. Lipe Machine Shop was established in Syracuse, New York in 1880 in the Lynch Building by Charles E. Lipe , a mechanical engineer. The building became an early industrial incubator and was commonly known as the Lipe Shop. While Lipe worked on his own ideas, he rented out facilities to others...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
from 1889 to 1893. During 1893—1895, Casler worked as a draftsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
for the General Electric Co., in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, designing electric rock drills. He was superintendent of the Marvin Electric Drill Co. of Canastoda, New York, in 1895—1896, with Harry Marvin as his employer. Marvin and Casler formed the Marvin & Casler Co. in 1896 to manufacture the Mutoscope and other Casler inventions, notably penny arcade machines. Casler later became sole owner of Marvin & Casler, which he sold in 1919. He retired in 1926, but continued to serve as a consulting engineer to a number of corporations, and filed his last patent in 1937, two years before his death.
Sources
- "Herman Casler," The National Cyclopædia of American Biography (1950), vol. 30, p. 347.
- Charles MusserCharles MusserCharles Musser is Professor of Film and American Studies at Yale University. He is a prominent film historian and documentary film maker who has "added a great deal to our knowledge of early cinema with his writings and his filmmaking."...
(1990). The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-18413-3