Glass Negatives - "Boston Gear"?., 1895-08-01

File — Box: 3, Folder: 15-17

Identifier: 34251

Series-level Scope and Content Note

From the Series:

67 glass negatives and copies of photos produced from them, being records of correspondence, legal documents, machines and Armat's house. Possibly originally photographed as evidence for a legal case.

Dates

1895-08-01

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Extent

From the Collection: 1.0 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Container Summary

Glass negatives of a large cylyndrical gear and a smaller gear with two sets of teeth. The larger gear may be the "Boston Gear," created especially for Thomas Armat and C. Francis Jenkins for their first working motion picture projector. The gear was extremely clumsy and was very loud; it is described in Terry Ramsey's book, A Million and One Nights (1926), pp. 144 - 145. Ramsey says of the gear that "ever since...the big Boston gear has been a paper weight on Armat's desk, where it may be seen today (sic). It is a significant piece of machinery, worthy of place in a museum." The photos made from these negatives are in Folder 6 of Box 2 of the collection.