Pleograph

Pleograph was an early type of movie camera created in 1894 by Polish inventor Kazimierz Prószyński. It was made before the cameras built by the famous Lumière brothers.

Like the Lumière brothers' cinematograph, Prószyński's pleograph could also be used as a projector. It used a special strip of celluloid film with holes between rows of images. With this improved pleograph, Prószyński made some of the first short films showing everyday life in Warsaw, such as people skating in the park in a film called "Ślizgawka w Ogrodzie Saskim" from 1902.

Later, Prószyński invented the first handheld camera called the Aeroscope, which used compressed air to work.

Studio named after it

The first Polish film studio in Warsaw was set up in 1901 and was named after this early camera, using its Polish name.