Paul, Robert, 1869 - 1943
Dates
- Existence: 3 October 1869 - 28 March 1943
Biography
Robert William Paul was born on 3 October 1869 in London and became a pioneer film maker, and acclaimed scientific instrument maker.
Robert learnt instrument-making skills at the Elliott Brothers in London and the Bell Telephone Company in Antwerp.
In 1891, he established an instrument-making company, Robert W. Paul Instrument Company in London and while working on this sector he started to experiment with making replicas of the Edison Kinetoscope three years later. Although the machines were successful, all available Edison films in Britain were illegal copies as the Edison camera was protected by a patent, which prevented others from making original films. Thus, by 1895 Robert had started to look into building his own camera. Around this time, he met Birt Acres, a professional photographer, inventor and film maker with whom he had a brief partnership out of which came the first camera made in England for use with Edison’s 35mm film format. Robert and Birt also made a few films together before going their separate way that same year.
At the end of 1895, Robert started to operate a kinetoscope at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and in 1896, he pioneered a system of projecting film onto a screen. In 1898 Robert built Britain's first film studio in Muswell Hill, north London and in 1901 he made the first adaptation of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. Robert continued making films and giving shows until 1910 when he left the film industry to concentrate once again on his scientific instruments company.
Robert enjoyed great success as a scientific instrument maker, his most successful invention was the Unipivot galvanometer, which gained him international acclaim. He won gold medals for his inventions at the St Louis Exposition in 1904 and the Brussels Exhibition in 1910, among others. At the outbreak of World War I, he started to make warfare equipment including wireless telegraphy sets and instruments for submarine warfare. In 1919 his company was acquired by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company.
Robert died 28 March 1943.
Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:
Arrest of a Pickpocket Film, April 1895
Nitrate format. Short film by Robert Paul and Birt Acres in which a man is pursued by a constable, runs right across the picture, they struggle together and the policeman’s helmet is knocked off, then the pickpocket, by slipping out of his jacket, manages to escape, but runs into the arms of a sailor, with whose assistance he is arrested.
Boxing Kangaroo Film, May - June 1895
Nitrate film by Robert Paul and Birt Acres, filmed on a small wooden stage, showing a brief scene of a boxing bout between a boy and a kangaroo and refereed by possibly the animal trainer or showman, who appears to the left of the pugilists.
Film, 1894 - 1896
Nitrate films made by Robert Paul and Birt Acres, showing brief scenes of topical events, popular entertainmet, family groups and fiction. These films were part of the repertoire travelled by showman George Williams around the British fairs.
George Williams Collection
Collection of early films related to the first year of film-making in America and the United Kingdom and nineteenth century magic lantern slides, letter, film catalogues and photographic plates.
Performing Animals Film, May - June 1895
Nitrate film by Robert Paul and Birt Acres, showing two animal acts filmed on the same wooden stage as the Boxing Kangaroo. The first sequence shows a skipping dog jumping through a hoop held by an animal trainer or showman. The second sequence shows possibly one of the earliest tributes to the Skirt Dance on film, with a dog or monkey performing the dance with the aid of its trainer.