From Smithsonian Magazine's Paleofuture blog:
The book reader of the future (April, 1935 issue of Everyday Science and Mechanics)
There’s no denying that devices like the
iPad,
Kindle and
Nook have dramatically changed the way that many people consume media. Last year, online retailer
Amazon announced that electronic book sales had surpassed print book sales for the first time in history.
The future of the book has quite a few failed predictions in its
wake. From Thomas Edison’s belief that books of the future would be
printed on leaves of nickel, to a 1959 prediction that the text of a book would be
projected on the ceiling of your home, no one knew for sure what was in store for the printed word.
The April, 1935 issue of
Everyday Science and Mechanics
included this nifty invention which was to be the next logical step in
the world of publishing. Basically a microfilm reader mounted on a large
pole, the media device was supposed to let you sit back in your
favorite chair while reading your latest tome of choice.
It has proved possible to photograph books, and throw
them on a screen for examination, as illustrated long ago in this
magazine. At the left is a device for applying this for home use and
instruction; it is practically automatic.
Additional text accompanying the illustration reads, “You can read a
‘book’ (which is a roll of miniature film), music, etc., at your ease.”...
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