Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. Excerpt: ...as a presentation of what was taking place at the time, but as a re-production of some previous performance. This wonderful result has virtually been attained by the application of delicate and ingenious machinery designed to make the phonograph and the camera work synchronously. The first part of the problem was the production of a succession of so-called instantaneous photographs at an extremely rapid rate. In the actual apparatus forty-six photographs are taken every second, a feat which wo'ild beforehand be thought impracticable. This is accomplished by making use of a band of sensitive celluloid film, which alone admits of being moved and stopped with the desired rapidity. The movement is imparted by an electric motor, and the arrangement is such that for each exposure the film is held stationary for 9ffths of th of a second, during which the lens is uncovered, then for the remaining 1'0th it is covered, while at the same time the film is jerked forward so as to expose a fresh surface to receive a new impression. Obviously the mass moved and stopped with this rapidity (which without the stoppages is at the rate of 26 m1les an hour) must be small, and it is found that photographs about I in. in diameter cannot be much exceeded in view of this condition. The lens has to be entirely stopped or screened during the tenth of the short interval (jiith of a second) in which the onward movement of the film is taking place, and it has to be practically open during the remaining fyths of the interval (joths of one second) in which the film is held stationary in order to receive the photographic image. These alternations of movement and stoppage must take place with the utmost regularity, and Edison has used a beautifully regulated electro-motor...

This pioneering work was the first documented survey of a system that helped fugitive slaves escape from areas in the antebellum South to regions as far north as Canada. Comprising fifty years of research, the text includes interviews and excerpts from diaries, letters, biographies, memoirs, speeches, and other firsthand accounts.