John Arthur Roebuck Rudge (26 July 1837 – 3 January 1903) was a British scientific instrument maker and inventor, who lived in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, noted for his contributions to the development of moving pictures. He collaborated with

William Friese-Greene William Friese-Greene (born William Edward Green, 7 September 1855 – 5 May 1921) was a prolific English inventor and professional photographer. He was known as a pioneer in the field of motion pictures, having devised a series of cameras in 1 ...

and, around 1880, he invented a device known as the Biophantic Lantern. This rotated seven square slides around a circular lamp housing, using a movement similar to the

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

, later found in many film projectors. The light was obscured between images via a pair of ground glass shutters. The only surviving sequence - likely the only one ever made - shows Rudge taking off his own head and putting it under his arm. The trick was carried out by Friese-Greene playing the body.
This lantern and the slides
are now to be found in the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

. Over the following decade Rudge came up with a series of

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

experiments to try to recreate movement, calling all of these 'Biophantoscopes'. All employed individually posed photographs, rather than images taken with a moving picture camera, and featured changing faces.''Who's Who of Victorian Cinema''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudge, John Arthur Roebuck Cinema pioneers 1837 births 1903 deaths English inventors

See also

References