Edward H. Amet

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Edward Hill Amet (November 10, 1860 – August 16, 1948) was an American inventor and electrical engineer who helped pioneer early motion pictures. Born in Philadelphia, he trained as an engineer and even worked with Thomas Edison. In 1891 he designed the first spring-wound motor for phonographs, which went on sale in 1894 with models using one, two, or four mainsprings. He also created the Echophone, later called the Metaphone, the first cylinder phonograph with a distinct tone arm. The American Graphophone Company sued him for alleged infringements, and manufacture was suspended in 1896.

In 1894 Amet teamed up with theater manager George Kirke Spoor to fund a new projector called the magniscope. The lightweight device showed moving pictures with less vibration and was a hit in several high-profile theaters. Edison sued him again, but Amet challenged the charges in court and Edison dropped the case. With Spoor, Amet produced short war films, including footage from staged military camps and miniature naval battles.

Amet stopped making the magniscope in 1900 after Selig Polyscope released the polyscope, and he sold his share to Spoor. He returned to film in 1911 with the Audo-Moto-Photo, a combination phonograph and projector that could synchronize sound, though its reliability is unclear. Edward Hill Amet died in Redondo Beach, California, in 1948.