In early 1888, Louis Le Prince built a one lens motion picture camera in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Is it possible to say what influenced his decision to change from the sixteen lens machine he had already built, to this new (and soon to be historic) camera? This episode attempts to do that... Support the show
A short warm up for Episode Forty. Support the show
Le Prince sees the publication of his US Patent for a multi-lens camera. His excitement must have been mixed with apprehension as his designs were put into the public domain and suddenly available to potential rivals. And in Leeds, things were complicated: not only was he struggling to get a working projector for his multi-lens sequences, he had had some kind of eureka moment at the very end of 1887. What was it? This episode explores Le Prince's work from the end of 1887 to the beginning of 188...
Louis Le Prince has returned to Leeds. This is where history will be made - but not immediately. What did Le Prince do with his machines in the lead up to creating his one lens camera. This episode will begin to find out. Support the show
We have already seen Le Prince using his 16 lens camera in Paris in 1887 - but we know so little about what happened. This episode asks 'what can be discovered about those lost months and the images that came out of them?' Support the show
Not quite an episode; not quite an interval; a few words to see us on to the next stage of the story of Louis Le Prince. Support the show
Le Prince travels from England to Paris. There, he nurses his mother, who is ill, struggles with his US Patent specifications, and builds a sixteen lens camera. Sometime around the summer of 1887, he films scenes in Paris. Support the show
We begin by looking at Le Prince as he leaves New York for Europe in April 1887, and follow him rushing between Leeds, London and on to Paris. While in London, he visits his brother-in-law who is responsible for a huge exhibition in the heart of London - the great American Exhibition, the star of which is undoubtedly Buffalo Bill and his famous Wild West show. This episode looks at the story of Whitley and Buffalo Bill and how their incredible journeys intersected with that of Louis Le Prince. S...
Drawing to the end of the US Patent analysis, we discover a mistake in our research. Instead of becoming disheartened, we instead use this mistake to help us answer questions about the theories concerning possible corruption on the part of the US Patent Office. Support the show
1887. Le Prince was so close to getting his patent application allowed. But nothing seemed to run smoothly for the inventor. We examine the Patent Claims he tried to add, which almost ruined things for him - and we get to the bottom of one of the enduring conspiracy theories regarding Le Prince and his US Patent. Support the show
1887. Le Prince seems to be getting closer to having his patent application accepted. However, just when he seems to have succeeded, he does something that puts everything in jeopardy. Support the show
Le Prince, frustrated time and again by the Patent Office rejecting his designs, is struggling to find a way of getting his ideas accepted. Will he find a way to appease Patent Examiner William Burke? And will Burke's rejections ultimately lead to Le Prince coming up with a truly new idea to put into his patent claims? Support the show
Le Prince has applied for a US Patent, however, things do not go to plan. The Patent Office rejects several of the inventor's claims, forcing him to go back and re-think. This episode looks at some of Le Prince's attempts to get his designs accepted, and in the process, it uncovers for the first time, a small mistake by the Patent Office which might provide a clue as to how much the Patent Examiner, William Burke, actually understood about what Le Prince was trying to do. Support the show...
1886. Louis Le Prince is ready to go public with his designs for a motion picture camera and applies for a US Patent. We look at how the inventor made the jump from a rough and rudimentary Ferris-Wheel viewer to a sophisticated multi-lens receiver and deliver in around a couple of years. Support the show
While Le Prince works on his cameras, Lizzie is offered an opportunity that might change both their lives. What will now become of Le Prince's experiments? Should he show them to Thomas Edison? We reach 1886 and see that Le Prince is finally ready to tell the world about his work thus far..... Support the show
This episode tries to find an answer to the question 'What exactly did Le Prince achieve with his experiments in New York in the mid-1880's?' To help with this, we look at witness statements and descriptions of the work allegedly done and attempt to work out the extent of the inventor's achievements in America. Support the show
What do blue aliens from the moon Pandora and a painting by Marcel Duchamp have in common? We look at the work of Etienne-Jules Marey, another inventor who was capturing motion while Le Prince was experimenting in New York. Support the show
A look at six cards from the Le Prince children to their grandparents. What can we learn about the children from them - and is there anything else they might tell us? Support the show
We take another look at Le Prince's American cameras and explore the possibility that he planning on capturing 3D motion pictures. And if that were the case - what were the precedents which might have convinced him that this was a possibility in the 1880's? Support the show
John Whitley enlists the help of the legendary Buffalo Bill for his American Exhibition project. Meanwhile, Louis Le Prince begins work on his motion picture cameras - but how much do we know, can we know, about these cameras? To help us, we enlist the considerable investigative powers of Sherlock Holmes, who is about to appear in public for the first time...... Support the show
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Le Prince starts experiments with projectors and enlists the help of an assistant. Meanwhile, his work on the giant cycloramas of Theophile Poilpot sees him work on a second project - the Monitor and Merrimac panorama. And John Whitley get his teeth into his most ambitious project yet which brings him into contact with one of the legends of the Wild West. Support the show
Le Prince begins his experiments in motion pictures with two designs for machines with which to view images. What can we learn about them? How did they come about? And what might Le Prince do next? Support the show
The Le Princes are joined in New York by John Whitley who, in a break from his travels, has a new plan. We also, take a closer look at an incomplete three paragraph anecdote from Lizzie's memoirs to discover how Le Prince was involved in the patent for an early synthesiser. Support the show
A short, digressive episode in which we will explore the perceived authority of photographic images through its use in the solving of crime, the persuading of people in the existence of ghosts and in the potential to influence perceptions of conflict. The episode goes on to imagine how Le Prince's work on cycloramas may have influenced his views on film in later years. Support the show
The Shadow Traps has taken a very short break - a new episode is out next week. In the meantime, please consider this 'A short intermission'. Support the show
The Le Princes struggling to make ends meet in New York, have left behind them more financial loose ends in Leeds. However, as one way of earning an income, Le Prince becomes involved in the creation of Cycloramas, huge 360 degree paintings that were part of the lineage of cinema. His involvement with one particular panorama will lead to him having a tiny, indirect influence on the English language itself. Support the show
1882,1883. Le Prince is establishing contacts that will help him in his work with motion pictures although for now he is occupied with other tasks, while others work on their own motion picture cameras in earnest. Support the show
We use our information on the Le Princes' experiences with the Lincrusta-Walton wallpaper process to try and help us understand what their attitudes to film might have been. How could this work? Because the nineteenth century saw a change in the way Art was produced and experienced and it started with the most unassuming of forms. The decorative arts underwent a transformation because of the industrial processes that became available and as a result of the swathes of mechanically reproduced piec...
A recap of the story so far leads us to an account of how John Whitley's new venture fared in New York, followed by a trip out West to San Diego. Meanwhile, in Leeds, Lizzie is facing her own problems and waiting for a visit from her husband. After bringing the while family over to New York, Lizzie and Louis take a look at their new home. Lizzie finds work and is helped by Louis at the New York Institute for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb. Support the show...
