Belin with his fax machine. French inventor Edouard Belin (1876-1963) with his telephotograph machine, an early form of fax machine. Belin built his 'multiplex telegraphoscopic receiver' in 1907. Light falling on photo-electric cells produced sparks that perforated a strip of paper, the diameter of each hole varying with the strength of the current. The strip was then passed through a cinema projector, which produced an image of the transmitted subject on a screen. This method also allowed images to be sent by telegraph. Modern fax machines and photocopiers use similar principles. Photograph published in 1920. This photograph is from the Bain News Service, one of the USA's earliest news picture libraries.