Leopold Mannes
Encyclopedia
Leopold Damrosch Mannes (December 26, 1899 – August 11, 1964) was a Jewish
-American
musician, born in New York City
, who, together with Leopold Godowsky, Jr.
, created the first practical color transparency film, Kodachrome
.
Leopold Mannes was son of David Mannes
and Clara Damrosch
. Mannes and Godowsky's experimentation with color photography began in 1917, after seeing the film Our Navy in Prizma Color, which was advertised as a color film. Because of the low quality the boys felt cheated and decided to do something about it. They designed a movie camera
and projector
, each with three lenses
covered by orange-red, green and blue-violet filters
. They took multiple black-and-white
exposures and projected them back through the filters. They patented this system, but it was not a commercially viable process.
Mannes went on to study piano at Harvard and earned a Pulitzer Music Scholarship
and a Guggenheim fellowship
(1926) to study music composition in Italy. He later continued to play professional piano while studying physics at Harvard. Godowsky studied violin at UCLA and became a violinist with the Los Angeles and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Although a continent apart, they continued to collaborate on ideas for improving color photography. By 1922, Godowsky had given up his orchestra jobs in California and moved back to New York City where he and Mannes worked as musicians. They experimented with color photography during their spare time.
While on his way to perform in Europe in late 1922, Mannes made the chance acquaintance of a senior partner in the investment firm of Kuhn, Loeb and Co. and described their progress with color photography. Some months later the firm sent one of their junior associates, Lewis L. Strauss to the Mannes apartment to view the color process. The final results were impressive enough for Kuhn Loeb to invest in the process.
With financial backing, Mannes and Godowsky built a dedicated laboratory and in 1924 took out additional patents on their work. In 1930 Eastman Kodak
was so impressed with their results that they contracted them to move to Rochester and take advantage of Kodak's research facilities.
By 1935, Mannes and Godowsky and the Kodak research staff had developed a marketable subtractive color
film for home movies. Kodachrome
film was coated with three layers of ordinary black-and-white silver halide
gelatin
emulsion
, but each layer was made sensitive to only one-third of the spectrum
of colors—in essence, to red, green or blue. Special processing chemistry and procedures caused complimentary-colored cyan, magenta or yellow dye
images to be generated in these layers as the black-and-white silver images were developed. After they had served their purpose, the silver images were chemically removed, so that the completed chromogenic
film consisted solely of the three layers of dye images suspended in gelatin
.
Kodachrome
16mm movie film was released for sale in 1935, and in 1936 Kodachrome 35mm still
and 8mm movie
film were released.
Mannes returned to music after inventing Kodachrome, performing as a pianist and composing several musical scores. He served as president of the Mannes College of Music
(founded by his parents in New York) and served as a judge in music competitions, including the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. married George Gershwin's younger sister, the singer Frances Gershwin
, who went on to become a painter and sculptor. He continued the musical tradition of his father, Leopold Godowsky
(who was a well known pianist in his time), playing violin with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, as well as performing jointly with his father.
Mannes and Godowsky were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
in 2005.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician, born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, who, together with Leopold Godowsky, Jr.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. was an American violinist and chemist, who together with Leopold Mannes created the first practical color transparency film, Kodachrome.-Beginning:...
, created the first practical color transparency film, Kodachrome
Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009.-Background:...
.
Leopold Mannes was son of David Mannes
David Mannes
David Mannes was an American violinist, conductor, and educator.Mannes studied in Berlin with Karol Haliř and was a violinist in the New York Symphony Orchestra from 1891 and its concertmaster from 1898 to 1912. In 1912 he helped found the Colored Music Settlement School and in 1916, with his...
and Clara Damrosch
Clara Mannes
Clara Mannes, born Clara Damrosch was a German-born American musician, music educator. With her husband David Mannes she founded the Mannes College The New School for Music in 1916 ....
. Mannes and Godowsky's experimentation with color photography began in 1917, after seeing the film Our Navy in Prizma Color, which was advertised as a color film. Because of the low quality the boys felt cheated and decided to do something about it. They designed a movie camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
and projector
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
, each with three lenses
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
covered by orange-red, green and blue-violet filters
Filter (optics)
Optical filters are devices which selectively transmit light of different wavelengths, usually implemented as plane glass or plastic devices in the optical path which are either dyed in the mass or have interference coatings....
. They took multiple black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
exposures and projected them back through the filters. They patented this system, but it was not a commercially viable process.
Mannes went on to study piano at Harvard and earned a Pulitzer Music Scholarship
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
and a Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1926) to study music composition in Italy. He later continued to play professional piano while studying physics at Harvard. Godowsky studied violin at UCLA and became a violinist with the Los Angeles and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Although a continent apart, they continued to collaborate on ideas for improving color photography. By 1922, Godowsky had given up his orchestra jobs in California and moved back to New York City where he and Mannes worked as musicians. They experimented with color photography during their spare time.
While on his way to perform in Europe in late 1922, Mannes made the chance acquaintance of a senior partner in the investment firm of Kuhn, Loeb and Co. and described their progress with color photography. Some months later the firm sent one of their junior associates, Lewis L. Strauss to the Mannes apartment to view the color process. The final results were impressive enough for Kuhn Loeb to invest in the process.
With financial backing, Mannes and Godowsky built a dedicated laboratory and in 1924 took out additional patents on their work. In 1930 Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
was so impressed with their results that they contracted them to move to Rochester and take advantage of Kodak's research facilities.
By 1935, Mannes and Godowsky and the Kodak research staff had developed a marketable subtractive color
Subtractive color
A subtractive color model explains the mixing of paints, dyes, inks, and natural colorants to create a full range of colors, each caused by subtracting some wavelengths of light and reflecting the others...
film for home movies. Kodachrome
Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009.-Background:...
film was coated with three layers of ordinary black-and-white silver halide
Silver halide
A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , chloride , iodide , and three forms of silver fluorides. As a group, they are often referred to as the silver halides, and are often given the pseudo-chemical notation AgX...
gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
emulsion
Emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible . Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion is used when both the dispersed and the...
, but each layer was made sensitive to only one-third of the spectrum
Visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm. In terms of...
of colors—in essence, to red, green or blue. Special processing chemistry and procedures caused complimentary-colored cyan, magenta or yellow dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
images to be generated in these layers as the black-and-white silver images were developed. After they had served their purpose, the silver images were chemically removed, so that the completed chromogenic
Chromogenic
Chromogenic refers to color photographic processes in which a traditional silver image is first formed, and then later replaced with a colored dye image.- Description :...
film consisted solely of the three layers of dye images suspended in gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
.
Kodachrome
Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009.-Background:...
16mm movie film was released for sale in 1935, and in 1936 Kodachrome 35mm still
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
and 8mm movie
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
film were released.
Mannes returned to music after inventing Kodachrome, performing as a pianist and composing several musical scores. He served as president of the Mannes College of Music
Mannes College of Music
Mannes College The New School for Music is The New School university's music conservatory. While the university's main campus is located in Greenwich Village, New York City, Mannes maintains its main academic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan....
(founded by his parents in New York) and served as a judge in music competitions, including the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. married George Gershwin's younger sister, the singer Frances Gershwin
Frances Gershwin
Frances "Frankie" Gershwin , was am American singer.She was born in Manhattan, New York, the younger sister of George, Ira and Arthur Gershwin. She was the first of the Gershwin family to perform as a child, and she brought home a good sum of money for the time.She married Leopold Godowsky, Jr...
, who went on to become a painter and sculptor. He continued the musical tradition of his father, Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
(who was a well known pianist in his time), playing violin with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, as well as performing jointly with his father.
Mannes and Godowsky were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
in 2005.