Printed books versus electronic books—the eternal debate. The feel of paper, the smell of pulp versus the possibility of having an entire library on your digital reader. If this discussion seems modern, you might be surprised to learn that it was already heating up in 1930, when microfilm emerged as an alternative for storing books and sheet music. In fact, a kind of prototype for a mechanical book reader was even created—something like a digital reader of 1935.
Will printed books survive, or will they succumb to the convenience and accessibility of electronic ones? Despite our hopes for the former, only time will tell if the book holds a symbolic value far more important than its disadvantages compared to ebooks. Predictions come and go—from Edison saying that the books of the future would be printed on nickel leaves to other forecasts suggesting books would be projected onto the ceiling of your home. Many inventors have left their mark on what could have been the evolution of this technology, and a particular case is the digital reader of the future, from 1935.
The Invention from Everyday Science and Mechanics
The image dates from 1935 and was published in Everyday Science and Mechanics, a classic of all times in which the invention was presented as the next step in the technology behind the entertainment of the common man. Basically, it was a microfilm reader mounted on a pole or tripod that would allow reproducing books, music, and other formats using a microfilm projector that, according to the publication of the time, allowed "to photograph books and place the copies on the device for examination." The system worked by enlarging microfilms and you could move the screen to the correct angle, turn pages with a button, and adjust the focus of the screen, just like a modern digital reader.
https://old.neoteo.com/maquina-de-lectura-de-fiske/The entire idea behind microfilm technology was based on a need to miniaturize books and the content available at the time, so that it would be easy to accumulate and not take up so much space. This is why even today some institutions in the United States store their documents on microfilm, a technology patented in the 19th century.
An Impractical but Fascinating Concept
The concept of this digital reader of 1935 seems totally impractical today, even for its time. Having to use such a device to see books or read sheet music became quite uncomfortable, although we are sure that many would not have minded using such a modern machine for the era. What do you prefer? Reading on paper or digitally?
