George McCarthy Invents the Checkograph, the First Commercial Application of Microfilm

In 1925 New York banker George Lewis McCarthy invented the Checkograph, a system of microfilming checks for bank records. 
Designed to make permanent film copies of all bank records to deter fraud, the Checkograph used motion picture film and a conveyor belt to photograph checks before they were returned to bank customers. In 1928 Eastman Kodak bought his invention and began to market it with McCarthy as president of Kodak's Recordak Division. With a perfected 35mm microfilm camera, Recordak in 1935 expanded and began filming and publishing The New York Times on microfilm.