Edward Hill Amet (November 10, 1860 – August 16, 1948) was an American inventor and electrical engineer, best known for his contributions to the early motion picture industry. His magniscope was one of the first devices that projected moving pictures on vertical surfaces. Along with

George Kirke Spoor George Kirke Spoor (December 18, 1871 – 24 November 1953) was an early film pioneer who, with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907. He was a founding partner of V-L-S-E, Incorporated, a film distri ...

, Amet produced a series of war films.

Biography

Edward Hill Amet was born on November 10, 1860 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He trained as an electrical engineer and worked for a time with

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

. In November 1891, Amet designed the first spring-wound motor for phonographs, first sold in 1894. His Echophone (originally known as the Metaphone, "meta" an anagram of his name) was the first cylinder phonograph with a distinct tone arm. However, the American Graphophone Company sued Amet over the design and its manufacture was suspended in 1896. In 1894, Amet teamed up with

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

theater manager

to finance a new projector, the magniscope. The magniscope was lightweight (about ) and showed pictures with less vibration. The magniscope was a success and was sold to several high-profile theaters. Edison sued Amet, but because Amet decided to contest the charges in court, Edison dropped the case. Amet worked with Spoor to produce films to exemplify the capabilities of the machine. He made a series of war films, shooting footage from staged military camps and using miniatures in a bathtub to simulate naval battles. Amet ceased producing the magniscope in 1900 after the release of the polyscope by the Selig Polyscope Company, selling his share to Spoor. In 1911, Amet returned to film when he designed the Audo-Moto-Photo, a combination phonograph and film projector. The phonograph recorder was linked directly to the camera, allowing for the first synchronized sound. However, the invention may not have performed reliably. Amet died on August 16, 1948 in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amet, Edward H. 1860 births 1948 deaths Film producers from Illinois People from Waukegan, Illinois 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors Inventors from Illinois