R. W. Paul presented Britain's second

film projector A movie projector is an opto- mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras. Mo ...

, and the first commercially produced 35mm projector, the Theatrograph, on 20 February 1896. It was first demonstrated at Finsbury Technical College. The use of Paul's Theatrograph in music halls up and down the country popularised early

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

in Britain. It was first revealed to the public at the Egyptian Hall in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cou ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Carl Hertz Carl Hertz (May 14, 1859 – March 20, 1924) was an American magician. Biography He was born Louis or Leib Morgenstein in San Francisco. After becoming proficient in the art of magic, he toured America, Europe and Australia, which he had first v ...

sailed from England on 28 March 1896 aboard the

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel d ...

and during the voyage exhibited Paul's Theatrograph to the passengers. He also exhibited films in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and Australia. The screenings in South Africa were the first public screenings of moving pictures in that country. After Australia, Hertz took the Theatrograph to Ceylon (

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, China, Japan, the Fiji Islands, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

George Melies George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

purchased one of Paul's theatrographs in 1896.Wakeman, John. World Film Directors, Volume 1. The H. W. Wilson Company. 1987. pp. 747–765. The Theatrograph was also known as the Animatograph.

Notes

References

* * * * Audiovisual introductions in 1896 Film and video technology History of film British inventions Projectors {{film-tech-stub