Why Did Edison Choose 35mm ?

[Maurice Leakey]

For many years I have wondered why Thomas Edison chose 35mm? Particularly as the US, as then and now, did not use metric measurements. I have now found a credible explanation in a book called "Home Movies" by Alan Kattele and published by Transition Publishing in 2000.

Edison's Kinetograph camera used Eastman Kodak film 1-3/8" wide. (1.375".) The most generally accepted explanation for the use of this width is that it was the most convenient for Eastman to supply being exactly one half of the width of the film being made for the original Kodak camera.

1.375 inches equates to 34.925 millimetres. Pretty close to 35mm.


Maurice

[Steve Klare]

The legend is that one of Edison's workmen asked him how wide the film should be. He held a thumb and a ring finger apart and said "-this wide".

-if Edison had larger hands we may have had 70mm much sooner!