Eugene Augustin Lauste
Encyclopedia
Eugène Augustin LausteEugène Augustin Lauste (17 January 1857 in Montmartre
, France
- 27 June 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey
) was a French inventor instrumental in the technological
development of the history of cinema.
By age 23 he held 53 French patents. He emigrated to the United States in 1886 where he worked as an assistant to William Kennedy Laurie Dickson at the Edison Laboratories
. Lauste contributed to the development of the leading predecessor to the motion picture projector, the Kinetoscope
, an invention
for which Edison would claim credit. Lauste left Edison in 1892.
Lauste also worked on an idea for a combustible
gasoline
engine
; he did develop a working model in the 1890s but gave up when told that such a noisy device would never be widely used. He then worked with Major Woodville Latham
, for whom he engineered the Eidoloscope
and assisted with the design of the Latham Loop. (Later, Dickson would credit Lauste with the loop's invention.)
He demonstrated the Eidoloscope in 1895 in a lower Broadway store with films of the Griffo-Barnett prize fight, taken from Madison Square Garden
's roof on May 4th. Thanks to the Latham Loop inside the camera, the entire fight could be continuously shot on a single reel of film. He held regular displays of the pictures that summer in a Coney Island
tent.
He joined the American Biograph Company in 1896 and remained there for four years before moving to Brixton, England. In 1904 he prepared his first sound-on-film
model. In 1906 he (along with the Australian Haines and the Briton John S. V. Pletts) applied for a British patent
; their application was granted patent No. 18057 in 1907 for "a process for recording and reproducing simultaneously the movements or motions of persons or objects and the sounds produced by them," i.e., a strip of 35 mm
celluloid
film containing both image frames and a sound strip. In 1911 he exhibited a sound film
in the United States, possibly the first-ever American showing of a movie using sound-on-film technology. Before he could market his system more widely, though, World War I
intervened.
From 1928 until his death, Lauste was a consultant for Bell Telephone Laboratories. With his wife, Melanie, he had a son, Emile, and two stepsons, Clement and Harry E. LeRoy.
PBS History Detectives episode on Lauste
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- 27 June 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
) was a French inventor instrumental in the technological
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
development of the history of cinema.
By age 23 he held 53 French patents. He emigrated to the United States in 1886 where he worked as an assistant to William Kennedy Laurie Dickson at the Edison Laboratories
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
. Lauste contributed to the development of the leading predecessor to the motion picture projector, the Kinetoscope
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
, an invention
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
for which Edison would claim credit. Lauste left Edison in 1892.
Lauste also worked on an idea for a combustible
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
; he did develop a working model in the 1890s but gave up when told that such a noisy device would never be widely used. He then worked with Major Woodville Latham
Woodville Latham
Major Woodville Latham was an ordnance officer of the Confederacy during the American Civil War and professor of chemistry at West Virginia University. He was significant in the development of early film technology....
, for whom he engineered the Eidoloscope
Eidoloscope
The Eidoloscope was an early motion picture system created by Woodville Latham and his two sons through their business, the Lambda Company, in New York City in 1894 and 1895.-History:...
and assisted with the design of the Latham Loop. (Later, Dickson would credit Lauste with the loop's invention.)
He demonstrated the Eidoloscope in 1895 in a lower Broadway store with films of the Griffo-Barnett prize fight, taken from Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
's roof on May 4th. Thanks to the Latham Loop inside the camera, the entire fight could be continuously shot on a single reel of film. He held regular displays of the pictures that summer in a Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
tent.
He joined the American Biograph Company in 1896 and remained there for four years before moving to Brixton, England. In 1904 he prepared his first sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
model. In 1906 he (along with the Australian Haines and the Briton John S. V. Pletts) applied for a British patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
; their application was granted patent No. 18057 in 1907 for "a process for recording and reproducing simultaneously the movements or motions of persons or objects and the sounds produced by them," i.e., a strip of 35 mm
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
celluloid
Celluloid
Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is...
film containing both image frames and a sound strip. In 1911 he exhibited a sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
in the United States, possibly the first-ever American showing of a movie using sound-on-film technology. Before he could market his system more widely, though, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
intervened.
From 1928 until his death, Lauste was a consultant for Bell Telephone Laboratories. With his wife, Melanie, he had a son, Emile, and two stepsons, Clement and Harry E. LeRoy.
Published
- Eyman, Scott (1997). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926–1930. New York: Simon & Schuster (chapter 1 available online). ISBN 0-684-81162-6
Online
Eugene LaustePBS History Detectives episode on Lauste