In 1889, Thomas Edison and William Dickson patented the Kinetoscope. The Kinetoscope allowed a single viewer to watch a film reel through a small window. At this time, Edison did not see any practical value to the Kinetoscope and dismissed the invention as a toy. However, aspiring filmmakers began designing and patenting similar projection machines around the Kinetoscope that allowed a film to be shown to a large audience. William Selig and George K. Spoor of Essanay Studios in Chicago, the Biograph Company, and Vitagraph Company all improvised Edison's work. Film companies of this time period customarily both created movies and established a means of viewing.
