An 1894 film for the Kinetoscope, which allowed one person at a time to view the film by looking through a hole in the device. The format developed by W.K.L. Dickson—35 mm film, an aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1 and 4 perfs per frame—became the standard for commercial film. The perforations solved the problem of registering or aligning frames in the camera and viewer. Although the camera—known as the Kinetograph—used an intermittent mechanism to hold the film still while each frame was captured, the film in the viewer ran smoothly with a shutter in front of the lamp providing intermittent illumination.

Early Edison films like this one were made in the “Black Maria”, a small studio painted black on the inside that could be rotated to allow direct sunlight to enter through its open roof. Seventy-five films were made in 1894, produced by W. K. L. Dickson and filmed by William Heise.