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1889 - Wordsworth Donisthorpe: Movies for the Working Man
Another moving picture pioneer operating in Britain at the same time as Friese-Greene, was the somewhat overlooked figure of a barrister named Wordsworth Donisthorpe (of 32 Pembridge Villas, Bayswater, London) and his sidekick (and cousin) William Carr Croft (of Westminster Chambers, 7 Victoria Street, London). Donisthorpe was the son of an inventor of wool-combing machinery for the Bradford textile weaving industry, and drew heavily from his own experience in that industry when he designed an ingenious camera which received a patent (No 452,966) in 1889. Both Donisthorpe and Crofts were committed political activists, and it was their intention to use moving pictures as a visual aid when lecturing in working men’s clubs.
The celluloid film in Donisthorpe’s camera moved from reel to reel at a constant speed (despite the celluloid being unperforated) on an oscillating carriage. The speed at which the carriage moved upwards matched the downward motion of the film, meaning it remained stationary in relation to the lens, thus capturing an exposure. As the carriage then moved downwards the exposed film moved on, placing an unexposed piece of film in front of the lens.
The results achieved from Donisthorpe’s film were good, as can be seen from this excerpt (on www.precinemahistory.net) of Trafalgar Square, which was filmed in 1890. This is believed to be the only 10 frames of Donisthorpe’s work that still exists. Surprisingly, Donisthorpe was unable to find a sponsor to finance his work. Sir George Newnes turned him down on the advice of a panel of “experts” who failed to see the potential of moving pictures, and who claimed that "the idea was wild, visionary and ridiculous, and that the only result of attempting to photograph motion would be an indescribable blur". [ADD]
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