Arthur Korn
Bildetelegraph (Telephotograph) of the Kaiser, 1906
Silver print
2 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches on larger sheet; mounted
Annotated mount recto "Portrait telegraphed by Prof. Korn from Munich to Nuremberg -- 100 miles."
Annotated mount recto "Portrait telegraphed by Prof. Korn from Munich to Nuremberg -- 100 miles."
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Arthur Korn was a German scientist best remembered for involvement in developing an early fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs. His machine was known as the Bildetelegraph, and was...
Arthur Korn was a German scientist best remembered for involvement in developing an early fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs. His machine was known as the Bildetelegraph, and was a precursor to both the wire-photo technology employed by 20th-century photojournalists to disseminate the news of world, as well as to television itself.
The present photograph, a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II, was transmitted as part of a public demonstration from Munich to Nuremberg, a distance of 100 miles. In a 1907 article, the New York Times would boldly declare, “the new "telephotograph" invention of Dr. Arthur Korn...is a distinct step nearer the realization of all this, and he assures us that "television," or seeing by telegraph, is merely a question of a year or two with certain improvements in apparatus."
The present photograph, a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II, was transmitted as part of a public demonstration from Munich to Nuremberg, a distance of 100 miles. In a 1907 article, the New York Times would boldly declare, “the new "telephotograph" invention of Dr. Arthur Korn...is a distinct step nearer the realization of all this, and he assures us that "television," or seeing by telegraph, is merely a question of a year or two with certain improvements in apparatus."