Early Moving Pictures--Eadweard Muybridge

Zoopraxiscope Disc- Horse Galloping (1893) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

English photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), who spent many years in the United States,  is best known for his pioneering work from the 1870s-1890s which captured animals and people in motion, showing the individual movements that the human eye could not distinguish as separate movements. His early work used multiple cameras to capture moving animals in stop motion photographs. He developed the zoopraxiscope, an early device for displaying motion pictures. It projected images which had been painted onto rotating glass discs in rapid succession, which gave the impression of movement. 

Eadweard Muybridge (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

His work gave a new perspective on the world, and was highly influential in the development of animation and film, and notably inspired Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson's early motion picture viewing device, the Kinetoscope. His work also influenced the world of art, evident in paintings such as Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase (1912).

Marcel Duchamp Nude Descending A Staircase (1912) source

The following article which appeared in The Camera in March 1917 gives an excellent overview of his work and its influence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Study of Animals Led to Movie Films

Zoopraxiscope Disc Horse/Back Somersault (1893)

To the late Dr. Muybridge, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is due the credit of working out scientifically the principle upon which the modern moving pictures are based, according to an article entitled "Evolution of the Moving Pictures," by George E. Nitzsche, in the current number of the Alumni Register. Mr. Nitzsche, who is a recorder of the University, now possesses more than 20,000 of the original photographs, taken during 1884 and 1885 at and under auspices of the University, which appropriated more than $40,000 to defray the expenses of Doctor Muybridge's investigations.

Detail of Woman Walking and Leaping from Box  (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

"Doctor Muybridge's experiments," says Mr. Nitzsche, "were begun in California in 1872, when he became interested in the study of the motion of animals, as a result, it has been stated of a discussion which arose among some horsemen as to whether a horse in running ever had all four feet off the ground at the same instant. The late Leland Stanford became interested in the investigation and put Muybridge to work photographing horses in various attitudes. These were probably the first instantaneous photographs ever taken.

The Horse In Motion (1878) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

"His investigations revolutionized art, and in 1893 the Fine Arts Commission of the World's Columbian Exposition erected for Doctor Muybridge what was undoubtedly the first moving-picture theatre. This was known as the Zoopraxographical Hall, where he gave a series of lectures upon his new science.

Zoopraxiscope Disc- Couple Waltzing (1893)  (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

"The Muybridge studio at the University consisted of an enclosure along one side of which was a shed about 120 feet long, eleven feet high, and sixteen feet deep, with the front open. In front of the shed was a track along which the animal would move. Opposite the shed was the camera house, thirty-two feet long, with a shelf on which were placed twenty-four cameras...

Leopard Leaping (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

"For his human models, Dr. Muybridge used students and graduates of the university who had made records in track and field  sports. He also used professional athletes,models from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, animals from the zoological gardens and thoroughbred horses.

Man Removing Hat (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Little Girl With Doll (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

"Dr. Muybridge's photographs revealed many facts which had been unknown prior to his experiments, such as the discovery that motions in all quadrupeds are essentially the same; the influence on the body of the shape of the foot; the value of unequal lengths of the toes; different gaits of animals or the succession of footfalls;  exact analysis of the movements of the raccoon, baboon, and the sloth....Many of these pictures were made in one five-thousandth of a second....

Zoopraxiscope Disc  Athletes Boxing (1893) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

Physiologists, anatomists, naturalists, artists and scientists soon recognized the importance of Doctor Muybridge's discovery and its possibilities...and it was not until Muybridge's invention of a method of instantaneous photography of animal locomotion that artists were enabled to faithfully reproduce different attitudes of the locomotion of animals and human beings."

Man Swinging A Pick Axe (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Mr. Nitzsche closes his article by pointing out that the motion pictures were first intended as an educational medium and pleads strongly for their use as such.

Detail From Woman Opening Umbrella (1887) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Text Adapted From The Camera, March 1917

    

The following short film gives an overview of Muybridge's Zoopraxiscope. It details how the glass discs were created, and shows images in motion. Please click on the link below to view this video from YouTube:

Influences

source

The following poem by Walt Whitman (1819-1892), from Leaves of Grass  is one of my favorites, and it illustrates how everything we see and do influences who we are and who we become. The language is old-fashioned, but the message is timeless.

There was a Child went Forth

THERE was a child went forth every day;
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the Third-month lambs, and the sow’s pink-faint litter, and the mare’s foal, and the cow’s calf,
And the noisy brood of the barn-yard, or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there—and the beautiful curious liquid,
And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads—all became part of him.
The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him;
Winter-grain sprouts, and those of the light-yellow corn, and the esculent roots of the garden,
And the apple-trees cover’d with blossoms, and the fruit afterward, and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road;
And the old drunkard staggering home from the out-house of the tavern, whence he had lately risen,
And the school-mistress that pass’d on her way to the school,
And the friendly boys that pass’d—and the quarrelsome boys,
And the tidy and fresh-cheek’d girls—and the barefoot negro boy and girl,
And all the changes of city and country, wherever he went.
His own parents,
He that had father’d him, and she that had conceiv’d him in her womb, and birth’d him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that;
They gave him afterward every day—they became part of him.
The mother at home, quietly placing the dishes on the supper-table;
The mother with mild words—clean her cap and gown, a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by;
The father, strong, self-sufficient, manly, mean, anger’d, unjust;
The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,
The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture—the yearning and swelling heart,
Affection that will not be gainsay’d—the sense of what is real—the thought if, after all, it should prove unreal,
The doubts of day-time and the doubts of night-time—the curious whether and how,
Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?
Men and women crowding fast in the streets—if they are not flashes and specks, what are they?
The streets themselves, and the façades of houses, and goods in the windows,
Vehicles, teams, the heavy-plank’d wharves—the huge crossing at the ferries,
The village on the highland, seen from afar at sunset—the river between,
Shadows, aureola and mist, the light falling on roofs and gables of white or brown, three miles off,
The hurrying tumbling waves, quick-broken crests, slapping,
The strata of color’d clouds, the long bar of maroon-tint, away solitary by itself—the spread of purity it lies motionless in,
The horizon’s edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud;
These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.

Ownership

Photo by GLady (source)

We really do not own anything until we begin to share it with others, and even then we are only partners in its ownership.

We all own the daylight, the beauty of earth, all the sunsets, every flower that our eyes see and admire, and every song our feathered friends give forth. Where appreciation is, there is ownership.

No one can long be happy with any possession that he cannot share with others--it would soon grow dusty and useless.

It has often been said that the only things that we keep are the things that we give away. We may give away the thing, but keep the love--and love is something that spreads out, with never an end to it.

by George Matthew Adams from Sunshine Magazine, February 1958

 

Remembering Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle Challenger's First Launch 1983 (Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons source )

Thirty years ago today, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was seen around the world on live t.v.. It was especially tragic because one of the people on board was New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had been selected from over 11,000 applicants to become the first Teacher In Space. She was supposed to conduct scientific experiments and teach two lessons while in orbit. Because of Mrs.McAuliffe being on board, many schools were watching the event live, and millions of children witnessed this shocking tragedy in real time.

Challenger Crew members are (left to right, front row) astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik.  (Photo by NASA) source

I was off from school that day (I think we had a snow day), but I wasn't watching the launch. Just after it happened, one of my friends called me in tears, and I turned on to see the shocking replays of this terrible event. The explosion of Challenger was one of those famous "Where were you when it happened?" moments, like the assassination of John F. Kennedy or September 11, 2001, when the nation and world came together in shock, disbelief, and collective mourning. For people like myself, born after John F. Kennedy's assassination, it was the first time we had experienced something like this, and although later world events would have more significance, this was a moment we would never forget.

Exhaust Trails-Challenger Explosion (Photo by NASA) source

That night, President Reagan postponed his scheduled State of the Union message, and spoke about the Challenger disaster as a tribute to the special men and women who died trying to reach for the stars. The link to the video of this memorable speech is below. For an in-depth overview of the Challenger disaster and subsequent investigation, please click on the following link to the excellent Wikipedia article on this subject, which includes multiple links to more information if you are interested.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

The Modern Kitchen Circa 1910

Woman With Chafing Dish  by Coles Phillips (1911)

The following passages on labor-saving kitchen devices are adapted from The Los Angeles Herald Sunday Supplement from March 13, 1910, and from a wonderful British multi-volume work called Every Woman's Encyclopedia published between 1910 and 1912, which covered every aspect of life for a middle to upper class woman of the era, including fashion, beauty, etiquette, the arts, society, marriage, childcare, needle crafts, cooking, and care of the sick. Some of the devices mentioned in these articles are still in use today in more modern form, and some are long forgotten. I am curious about the triplicate sauce pan that was mentioned, but I have been unable to find a picture of one.

Comforts For the Kitchen

Comforts for the kitchen! There was a time when every other room in the house received thought before the kitchen, as far as comforts were concerned. The kitchen was simply the workshop, and it was large and contained a range, a table and chairs. But to the housekeeper, who gave thought to matters pertaining to comforts in the house, there was something about the compactness of the dining car kitchen or the kitchen aboard ship that appealed to her. It showed that things could be concentrated and made more convenient as far as steps and time were concerned....Of late years inventive minds have sought to find labor saving devices for the housewife. The applied uses of electricity did a great deal, but there are many other things outside of electrical helps that have lessened the drudgery of kitchen work....The perfect kitchen is one which helps the housewife to do things as quickly as possible in the most comfortable way. The kitchen should be the laboratory of the household, not the place of drudgery. 

From the San Francisco Call (1911)

    

Among labor-saving utensils we find the bread mixer, an invaluable help in making bread; the oven indicator, which assists in getting the right temperature for baking; the meat grinder, which is most helpful for making hash, casserole, etc.; the spatula, measuring cups, potato parer, good knives, a pair of scissors, a set of skewers and a few good brushes. To these we may add the handy kettle which cooks quickly without scorching the food. Then we find the triplicate sauce pan, consisting of three pans in one; it is clover leaf in shape and permits three articles of food to be cooked at one time, with no more fuel than would be required to cook one. Each division may be detached from the other two if desired.

From the San Francisco Call (1911)

                                             

A double frying pan or omelette cooker is another interesting and convenient kitchen comfort. An omelette is prepared, and when cooked and ready to fold the pan is closed and the omelette folded in perfect shape. This appeals to every woman who has had trouble in doubling an omelette. It has other uses as well, besides being servicable for warming over two kinds of food at one time. The double pan is used over one burner, and therefore saves fuel and , best of all, saves dish washing. With all these helps work must be lighter. In addition, help yourself. Have all utensils handy. Utilize wall space, reach rather than step. Keep everything that you use often in sight. A small closet where one may keep brooms, ironing board, mops and things used only occasionally is desirable. The supply closet for reserve groceries, canned fruit, etc. should open into the kitchen....Have all the labor-saving devices that you can afford to have and teach your head to save your heels.

Adapted From The Los Angeles Herald Sunday Supplement from March 13, 1910

From the San Francisco Call (1911)

Labour-Saving Ideas In Kitchen Apparatus

There are hundreds of women who miss golden opportunities of providing their domestic staff with time and labour saving articles, owing to the fact that they have not yet realised the difference that a few good household tools make to the worker, and often to the family purse as well. The following utensils are eminently practical.

Take, for instance, the steam cooker. A cook is expected to serve up a dinner of several courses every evening; this usually entails the use and washing up of many saucepans, also a large fire or several gas boiling-rings. Buy one of these handy steamers, and at least four articles of food can be cooked over one pan of water, in which potatoes or a pudding can be boiled. They are constructed on scientific principles, giving concentrated heat with steam pressure. Each compartment is separate, and any number can be used, as food is as thoroughly cooked in the top compartment as in the bottom.

A Steam Cooker With Four Compartments

Soap was a source of constant waste in a house, but now there is no excuse for this state of things, when it is possible to purchase an excellent contrivance known as a "soap-saver." It consists of a wire basket into which all odds and ends of soap may be put. Close the basket securely, and shake it about in the water in which the articles are to be washed, when the water will soon become soapy. Used occasionally while washing up plates, etc., it will prevent any grease remaining, and will make the articles bright and clean in much less time than without its use. Another advantage, and by no means least, of this soap-saver is that all risk of finding soap adhering to the cups, forks, etc. is done away with. This saver...can be obtained at most good ironmongers.

A Clever Convenience By Which Soap Can be Saved

In houses where the cook has much work to do which takes her out of the kitchen, the "automatic meat-baster" will be found invaluable. If she is particular about basting the joints (of meat), much time will be wasted running backwards and forwards to the oven, while, if she is unconscientious in this matter, meat will often be dry through lack of basting. The automatic baster thus supplies a great want. It can be adjusted to any baking-tin, and to various heights to suit large or small joints (of meat). It consists of a tray with small holes in the bottom. Into this are put small pieces of mutton fat, beef suet, or, if preferred, drippings. With the heat of the oven these melt, percolate through small holes, and drip on the meat, thus keeping it thoroughly and continuously basted without taking up the cook's valuable time.

Automatic Baster

In our various recipes instructions are constantly given to "Rub through a sieve," or a "fine sieve," or perhaps a "coarse sieve"; obviously it is supposed the kitchen is provided with more than one. In these days of small flats and limited kitchen space, where every inch is of value, in few kitchens is there sufficient room to store three medium-sized sieves. Here is an invention which solves that difficulty. It consists of one frame with interchangeable bottoms. These can be changed instantly from coarse to fine, and are very easy to keep clean. The frames...vary from 8 inches to 18 inches in diameter...As shown in the illustration, the bottoms are quite flat, and, therefore, will take up very little room.

A Frame Sieve With Interchangeable Bottoms

Bread-making used to be a long, tedious process, and for that reason home baking became unpopular, and baker's bread was used instead of the more nourishing and satisfying home-made variety. With the invention of the "three-minute bread-maker," which mixes and kneads bread perfectly in three minutes, home-made bread is again becoming popular, to the great advantage of health and purse....

The Quick Bread Maker

Each year vegetarians and fruitarians are greatly increasing in numbers, and as nuts play a very important part in their diet, the grating machine illustrated comes as a great boon to them. It also deserves a place in every kitchen, for it greatly lessens the time and labour required for grating bread, cheese, nuts, etc. It is made in two sizes-- one, specially for grating bread, cheese, etc., and one for almonds and other nuts. It can be fixed to any ordinary kitchen table in the same way as a mincing machine.

A Useful Grating Machine

In houses of doctors and clergymen, who are often late for meals through no fault of their own, the fireproof dish with spirit lamp attached is a great boon, for dishes of all kinds can so easily be kept hot in it. The dishes are made in either green or brown fireproof china (in an oval or round shape.)

Fireproof Dish With Spirit Lamp

Adapted From Every Woman's Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, Circa 1910

The Chafing Dish

The chafing dish which became popular some few years ago, and which still remains popular, is not so modern an affair as many fancy it is. It figured on the table of the Greeks and Romans more than two thousand years ago, and occupied so prominent a place at banquets that several prominent Romans of those days did not consider it beneath their dignity to mention it. The dish of that day may have been less useful than the modern chafing dish with all its helpful accessories, but it was more elaborate. Like all utensils and ornaments, the chafing dish was exquisite in workmanship and beautiful in design.

Chafing Dish from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management (1909)

Today this useful commodity belongs to all nations. It did not appear in America until 1720. The story goes that a rich father wishing to bestow upon his daughter at her marriage "a truly elegant outfit," ordered from England six small chafing dishes. It is today quite a necessary feature of the household. Many things for luncheon or informal occasions can be prepared in the chafing dish. It can be manipulated by a man or woman. A chafing party is the sincerest expression of the most perfect hospitality and expresses the most hearty good fellowship.

Two Cooks by Clarence Underwood (1908) source

Recipe For Welsh Rarebit

Melt butter the size of an egg in chafing dish; when melted put in three cupfuls of grated American cream cheese with about one-third pint of beer or ale. Keep stirring. Put in a half teaspoon of prepared English mustard. When cheese is melted add two well-beaten eggs and cook for a second only. Be sure that the eggs are well mixed with the cheese and butter. Salt to taste and serve on hot toast.

Adapted From The Los Angeles Herald Sunday Supplement from March 13, 1910

The Beauty of Trees In Winter

Winter Sunrise ©Susan Sherwood 2016

I have always loved bare winter trees, especially when silhouetted against a pastel sky at sunrise or sunset, or snow-covered on a clear blue morning after a storm. The following passages and images celebrate the unique strength and beauty of trees in the winter.

From Sour Grapes: A Book of Poems (1921)

Sky Reflections ©Susan Sherwood 2016

To the Real Lover of Trees

To the real lover of trees they are all equally beautiful and interesting at all seasons of the year; and no one knows trees well who cannot distinguish the different species as easily and surely in winter as in spring or summer. Almost every tree has some special and peculiar beauty which is seen to the best advantage in winter. The fine spray of the beech is seen only at this season of the year, and there are few more beautiful objects in nature than the delicate branches of our New England beech trees seen against the clear blue sky of a brilliant winter day. The sturdiness of the oak is best realized in winter, for at other seasons its massive limbs are often hidden under their covering of leaves...The bark of most trees appears more beautiful in winter than at other seasons of the year because the eye, undisturbed by the contemplation of the foliage, can then most easily take in all the details of its varied texture and wonderful colors....

 --From the Introduction to Studies of Trees In Winter (1905)

Book by Annie Oakes Huntington, Introduction by C. S. Sargent

Tree Trunks and Sky ©Susan Sherwood 2016

Winter Trees  ©Susan Sherwood 2016

Conserving and Preserving Food- WWI and WWII

WWII Poster

In WWI and WWII, conservation of food was important to the war effort in the U.S.A. and around the world. Citizens were encouraged to be mindful of what they were eating, to buy local foods, and to grow and preserve their own food when possible.  Women's magazines often featured recipes for dishes without wheat, meat or eggs.

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Food rationing occurred in some countries during WWI, but did not occur in the USA until WWII. Food and other necessary items were in short supply, and families were issued stamps or coupons to redeem for a limited quantity of foods such as meats, cheese, butter, shortenings and canned goods. Sugar, coffee and gasoline were also rationed. This 1943 photograph from the United State Office of War Information is captioned as follows: "Preparation for point rationing. An eager school boy gets his first experience in using war ration book two. With many parents engaged in war work, children are being taught the facts of point rationing for helping out in family marketing."

 

Preparation For Point Rationing (1943)- Photo by Alfred T. Palmer (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

The government encouraged the planting of War Gardens or Victory Gardens (the more common term in WWII), which were fruit and vegetable gardens located at homes and in public parks in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and Germany. They helped to supplement the food supply, and also provided a morale boost to citizens who felt empowered by growing their own food. These fresh foods provided much needed nutrition, as well as variety, and people were encouraged to can and preserve their harvests. 

WWII Poster  (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

 After work, Mr. and Mrs.Smith Find Time to Work in Their Victory Garden Behind Their House, Childersburg, Alabama (1942)

 Photo by John Collier (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

The following illustrations and photographs were produced during WWI and WWII, and they provide an interesting look at life during those eras. By encouraging moderation in diet, and emphasizing fresh, locally-grown foods, the information they provide is still relevant today.

Magazine Advertisement (1917)

 

 

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

WWI Poster by Charles Dana Gibson (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

WWI Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

WWI Poster- Canada Food Board  (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Dolly Dingle Paper Dolls by Grace Drayton (1918)

Some Victory Gardeners Showing Their Fine Vegetables. 1942 or 1943 (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

WWII Poster by Peter Fraser (Courtesy of The National Archives-United Kingdom)

 

  Children With Radishes Grown in the Fairlawn Avenue Victory Gardens
Washington D.C. (May 1943)

  Photo by Joseph Anthony Home (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

 

WWII  Poster (Courtesy of Library of Congress)