Saturday Morning, August 29, 2026
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Looks perfect, said Bill Dickson holding the celluloid strip to the light. The coiled plastic wrapped around his hand like a hungry cobra. Tom sat at his desk nodding. Feeds well into the projector. The men were discussing the magic key to their scientific project. A box lay open loaded with containers containing spools of this celluloid. Marked on the label was one word. Kodak.
1939 movie poster, produced by Lewis Milestone,
Tell me about the rabbits, George, 22" x 28"
George Eastman had developed a photo film unlike like any other. Flexible celluloid able to capture images. HIs goal was to use it for roll film in his cameras. Well, his discovery was almost unique. Almost.
Louvre Museum replica plaster bust. From the Atelier de Moulage. La Bernardine, a 15th century figure thought to have depicted the Virgin Mary, first sculpted in limestone. The original is located in the Musée Labenche. 15" H.
In Newark, New Jersey, Hannibal Goodwin, a retired reverend, had been working on this identical dilemma. He was looking for a way to capture Biblical scripture on something other than single plate photography. Both found success, with Eastman obtaining his patent first. But the true winners in this race, the ones never inventing roll film at all, were William Dickson and Thomas Edison. Their application far exceeded the inventor's intents. Edison, shrewd beyond most, knew how to proceed with patents, and more importantly, patent dates. This new applicaton would change the world, bringing joy to millions. On their workbench was a film projector. Welcome to the world of cinematography.
Celluloid Heroes Never Really Die
Celluloid was a proven substance for capturing photographic images. The problem was flexibility. Cutting celluloid blocks into thin slices and chemically treating them yielded single images. But so did daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tin, and paper.
Daguerreotype, the first method in photography, 1840's. A thin silver coating over a copper plate, when exposed to bromine or iodine, became sensitive to light. The subject would remain motionless for up to 30 minutes to capture the image. Within fifty years photography morphed into movies. A trip much like the Wright Brothers first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, and a Boeing 707 lifting off in 1957.
The photo industry was experiencing growing pains. Willliam Dickson was appointed by Edison to lead the team in solving this problem. The goal was turning sequential images into continual motion. Eadweard Muybridge, in 1878, had come close with his Horse in Motion series, proving horses do leave the ground entirely when they run. But this was completed with multiple photo cameras along the race track. The images, strung together, simulated motion in a limited way. The future was beckoning, like Gregory Peck (Captain Ahab) atop Moby Dick.
1964 poster. The movie posters arrive to us in unused condition, tucked away years ago, 22"x 28"
William Dickson discovered by running celluloid film through a projector at speeds reaching up to 46 frames per second, true motion was captured. Film reels, with perforated edges, would feed through the projector on sprockets.
14k gold lapis earrings. Not quite an Oscar, but it will do.
To ensure each frame would project to the screen, an escapement mechanism controlled the flow, a watts versus ohms dilemma. Each frame was held in place for 1/460th of a second. William Dickson received the patent in his name under Edison's umbrella. His ingenuity would survive technological advancements all the way to the digital day.
The Spy Who Came in for the Cold
Public reaction was overwhelming. Cinematography quickly morphed from silent comedic shticks to feature length movies. Following WWI, the market spiraled to new heights. Stars were born. Legends created.
A surprise ending with a bit more than a twisted ankle.
Movie theaters replaced tea rooms as a pastime.
Inlaid tea caddy with complete fitted interior, 13" W. 6½" H.
Max Factor, a Russian immigrant, cosmetologist to Tsar Nicholas's court, a man who feared antisemitism, emigrated to America. He landed in LA, home to film making. There he invented makeup that would not melt under the hot studio French Fry lighting. He painted the faces of stars. The world was rapidly changing. Now, with a bit of blush and foundation, you could look like a star. To accommodate and attract movie crowds year-round, especially in the summer months, air conditioning was born. First in Chicago in 1917, then in the Manhattan palaces, specifically The Rivoli. William Carrier reached his fame by designing these systems. According to Newton's Laws of Motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Air conditioning created one more incentive. The Summer Blockbuster.
Some Like it Hot
You know the moment. One enters a movie theater and the smell of fresh popcorn guides you to the snack counter. So powerful is this attraction, even today, you see gray haired attendees munching away. Not from hunger, but from the memory of childhood matinees.
1949 copyright.
A poster foreshadowing an auction arriving on September 19th. John Mill's daughter, Hayley, was the love of every boomer boy who watched Disney movies in the 1960's.
Early movie theaters discouraged snacks as the decor was often destroyed by the detritus. But you can't outlaw the obvious. So, instead of stowaway popcorn bags from street vendors, movie moguls built the lobby snack stand. For all the hesitation in 1920's movie palaces, the snack counters exploded in the 1930's. Why? Theater owners made more money selling popcorn than movie tickets, in many cases, the former keeping the theater profitable. During WWII, with sugar rationed, the nation stuffed popcorn into their mouths. It was estimated half of the corn crop was eaten in movie theaters. The demand has grown. Today we eat meals, sit in luxurious seats, enjoy surround sound, and tolerate endless coming attractions. But you don't always have to for entertainment. There is Brown Bros. a no frills, plenty of thrills experience each week in Buckingham.
Tanya Ragir (1955-2023), clay sculpture, LA artist gone too soon, 23" H.
Door open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]