Pinocchio Original Wire Photo: The Blue Fairy

The Blue Fairy

MEDIUM: Original Wire Photo
PRODUCTION: Pinocchio, 1940
IMAGE SIZE: 9" x 7"
SKU: CCV2585

ABOUT THE MEDIUM: The wire photo process, invented in 1921, allowed photographic images to be transferred through telephone lines. First, the original photograph was placed inside the wirephoto machine where an electronic eye would scan and translate it into electrical impulses. These impulses were then sent via telephone wire to another wirephoto machine. Once that machine received the impulses, they would be translated into light that developed the image onto photographic paper. The development could take anywhere from several minutes to over an hour, as the paper was exposed line by line. A good way to identify a wire photo is to look for the tiny horizontal or vertical lines in the image.