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The Leilich Cinematograph (1907)

The invention of motion pictures required public viewing spaces – a need first met by traveling exhibitions mounted by the entrepreneurial Marzen and Leilich families. Much like circuses, these viewing spaces were housed within temporary accommodations that moved from city to city. The Leilich theater in this photograph is an example of the Wanderkinos [traveling theaters] of the early 1900s. Gradually, these exhibitions became permanent movie houses, like those we know today.

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The Leilich Cinematograph (1907)

Original: Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin.
© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz