The number of motion-picture companies increased rapidly during the 1896-1897 theatrical season. These enterprises no longer tried to develop their own self contained technological systems but adopted and adapted one already in existence: the 35-mm format with Edison perforations. While an astoundingly large number of firms made projectors that could handle Edison films, only a few actually began to produce their own films. The impetus behind this production of projectors and films came from the many independent exhibitors who began showing motion pictures during the summer of 1896 and whose numbers rapidly proliferated over the course of the new theatrical season. Buying films and machines from one or more manufacturers, they gave entertainments without having to worry about territorial restrictions, royalties, or licensing...