tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21855880645933969482024-02-18T18:33:09.400-08:00The Richard Balzer CollectionBrian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-42458832929393250752014-10-30T19:23:00.000-07:002014-10-30T19:23:44.956-07:00Parlor Kinetoscope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Thomas Alva Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, was a
prolific inventor with over 100 patents. He was one of the pioneers in
developing and showing films in the 1890s. Before the Lumi</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">ère </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">brothers showed their first
projected movie in 1895, Edison had opened his first Kinetoscope Parlor in New
York where patrons could watch movies in a peepshow-like device. There were
rows of machines and with the deposit of a coin, a motor would engage and
through a viewing hole you could see the film. The Kinetoscope Parlor was an
immediate success, but in less than a decade the Kinetoscope was overwhelmed by
projected movies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">In 1897, Edison also patented and produced a table-top
Parlor Kinetoscope to appeal to the burgeoning home entertainment market. Very
few of these toys have survived through to today. I am fortunate to have one
now and I have opened a whole new section on my site for Flickers which include
Kinoras, Flip books, the Parlor Kinetoscope, and Muta<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>scopes.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-40114712864016916972014-09-11T19:59:00.004-07:002014-09-11T19:59:41.971-07:00Magic Lantern Convention<br />The Magic Lantern Convention held in July in Boston was a great success. Eighty-five people, from seven countries and three continents, spent three days watching shows, listening to presentations, buying and selling items, sharing stories and meals. Although much of the convention was devoted to the magic lantern there were talks about a wide range of visual entertainments. One of the most intriguing was a talk by Jacques Prenez about seditious figures. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another was given by an unexpected presenter, George L. Mutter, who only contacted me days before the Convention began, and shared an incredible group of 19th century stereo views to be seen with the assistance of 3-D glasses.</div>
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<br />Still the majority of time was taken with a variety of talks and shows about the magic lantern. We learned about early lanternists in Venice, a district in Madrid where freak shows and phantasmagoria entertainment were offered, and we were treated to an in depth look at a 1890 catalogue of lantern materials produced by the Berlin firm, W. Hagedorn.<br /><br />We had so many shows over the weekend. We were treated to amazing photographs of Mary Ann Auckland’s Canadian grandmother (top) and Dick Moore shared some stunning circus images (bottom).</div>
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<br />Then there was the wonderfully creative show, The Arctic Theatre Royal (yes polar bear costumes and large windup panorama, presented by the Wonder Show from Providence. </div>
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<br />R.I. Mitsue Ikeda and her troupe of students, from Osaka University, treated us to a rear projection Japanese lantern show. No, no not done yet. How often do people get to attend a film premiere? We had the chance to watch the world premiere of “ A Magic Lantern Life: The Story of the American Magic Lantern Theater.<br /><br />The convention was held in the midst of my collection and during breaks I showed participants different parts of my collection including an early 18thcentury magic lantern.</div>
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On top of all of this we had the dazzling display of Magic Lantern Entertainment at the Brattle theatre in Cambridge. The sold out theatre was alive with laughter, applause and audience participation during five shows on offer that evening. The night’s entertainment ended with Mervyn Heard giving a show entitled How Bill Adams Won the Battle at Waterloo. It was fun and turned history on its head.</div>
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<br />It was decided at the end of the convention to hold the next International Convention in two years in New Orleans. There is plenty of opportunity to join the Magic Lantern Society and even get on the program in New Orleans. If you are interested in either finding out more details about the Magic Lantern Society of the U.S. and Canada or joining the Society please contact the Chairman, Ron Easterday, at <a href="mailto:president@magiclanternsociety.org">president@magiclanternsociety.org</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-2849570628474943792014-09-11T19:37:00.000-07:002014-09-11T19:37:17.893-07:00Diafanoramas<div>
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Some times it takes a while to learn what something “really” is and what its appropriate name is and even then, there are still unanswered questions. That process of discovery is one of the joys of collecting. Some ten years ago, I bought a wonderful18th century boxed set of glass views of a group of people watching a fireworks display.<br />
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I thought it was a rare set of glass peepshow views. It looked similar to paper sets of peepshow views made by the famous German printer, Martin Engelbrecht, in which a scene was printed on six different cards. When the views are placed in a peepshow box and the viewer looks at the scene through a lens, the scene appears three-dimensional and much more life-like than a flat painting, drawing or a print. I thought some type of rare peepshow would be used to view these glass transparencies. I held that view for quite a long time and even saw one or two peepshows that I thought might be used for such a purpose. I also saw a couple of exhibitions in which sets of these glass views were included and displayed in a way that gave credence to the idea that they were peepshow views.<br />
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The last few years my thinking about these incredible views began to change as I did more reading and began seeing references to things called Diaphanoramas and Diafanoramas. Some times the term Diaphanorama is applied to other sorts of visual entertainment but both terms are used when describing glass transparent views. I will use the term Diafanorama since it seems to refer exclusively to transparent glass views. This past May, when I went to Amsterdam, I learned more about Diafanoramas. There were three of them on display at the Rijksmuseum. They were set into the wall and displayed in a way that you might look at a set of peepshow views. However, Tristan Mostert, the curator of the show, told me of research that suggested that this was not how these images were viewed; in fact, these images were to be viewed as reflected in a concave mirror (often referred to in the 18th century as a burning mirror). A set of candles would be arranged behind the box to provide lighting and a concave mirror placed in front of the box, with the mirror turned toward the box. The image would be reflected in the mirror. The mirror view created a greater appearance of depth (much like the hidden mirror in the top of a vertical peepshow does). I didn’t have time while I was in Amsterdam to see the other Diafanoramas in the Rijksmuseum, but they are online. I also found there is a large collection of these views at the Rotterdam Museum, which I also visited online<br />
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Helmut Wälde has just written a very interesting article for The New Magic Lantern Journal (Vol 11, #9) on The Dutch Diafanorama. Wälde adds considerably to the existing knowledge about these glass paintings, how they were painted and what sorts of people owned them. His article focuses exclusively on Dutch examples. His research suggests a common format. Each set has four painted sheets of glass with the same measurements of width and height. I have in my collection a number of sets of transparent paintings done on two sheets of glass. Furthermore, my sets with more than two sheets of glass are different sizes, suggesting that there was not a common format.</div>
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Diafanorama seem to have begun appearing in the middle of the 18th century. They were an amusement mainly for the private entertainment of well-to-do families. There were, however, in the19th century public shows of both Diaphanoramas and Diafanoramas. I have two broadsides in my collection advertising such shows. One is a Russian broadside advertising a Diaphanorama (gallery of transparent pictures) on display in Moscow in 1834. Very recently I added another broadside advertising a 1833 Diafanorama entertainment in the city of Altenburg, Germany. The Altenburg show contained thirty different painted scenes, most of them painted by the famous Swiss painter, Franz Niklaus König. König began giving public shows of Diafanoramas in 1811. He built up a stock of different scenes and took his show on tour in the 1820s. Upon his death in 1832, Christian Stettler and a partner bought König’s collection and began making shows with the collection. This broadside advertises a show over two evenings. I hope over time to learn more about his shows. What size were the views? What size was the audience? Did the audience use a mirror to view the scenes?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLxpwSCkBgJPEbVx6_VnzoME5Uj95SgZZg3KD_R05_5bl-yW9HqmSK81slAaqPZ5JFojM3R270XNn5qetN-S7oYtJxRQPRrQLwglYfiYdsQlRX3D5FaR_c1PMdu2cs9lBn4egFuZH9aun/s1600/d-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLxpwSCkBgJPEbVx6_VnzoME5Uj95SgZZg3KD_R05_5bl-yW9HqmSK81slAaqPZ5JFojM3R270XNn5qetN-S7oYtJxRQPRrQLwglYfiYdsQlRX3D5FaR_c1PMdu2cs9lBn4egFuZH9aun/s1600/d-3.JPG" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
Now that I am posting images and information on my collection of Difanoramas and associated broadsides, I have to decide where they belong within my web site. I considered placing them in the peepshow section.I have decided, at least for now, to put them in the Panorama/Diorama section because the Difanoramas have much in common with Diorama paintings. Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre opened his first Diorama in Paris in 1822. Scenes were painted on multi-layered panels of linen, with selected parts treated to be transparent. These multi-layered paintings were on a different surface and of a very different scale but like the Diafanorama, they were a form of entertainment that made <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>the viewing of a painting a more three dimensional experience. </div>
</div>
</div>
Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-83015319133762588912014-05-27T11:42:00.000-07:002014-05-27T11:42:51.511-07:00Upcoming Magic Lantern Convention<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“Come One! Come All!” barks the broadside advertising the upcoming
evening of Magic Lantern entertainment at Cambridge’s iconic Brattle Theatre.
On July 12 at 7:00 PM the doors will open and at 7:30 an evening of amazing lantern
shows will unfold. Come watch images dance across the screen as lanternists use
a 19<sup>th</sup> century biunial magic lantern to create an unforgettable
evening of entertainment. It is a show not to miss. Tickets are available
through the Brattle Theatre at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>www.brattlefilm.org</div>
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There is still time to register for the three-day
convention, packed with talks, shows and demonstrations of different visual
entertainments from the 18<sup>th</sup> to the 20<sup>th</sup> century. If
interested in registering, please contact Richard Balzer at <a href="mailto:dickbalzer@gmail.com">dickbalzer@gmail.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRHX41nvj4OKkwWHw4oGfeLysEBhjILnRHCXuaUtAqk1Yx-X1Uy0_bXb5hyphenhyphenT1nTfOEUGJfBDRWqGdq3Yk6NBuvRpwxJBFNqx9bVz0MhnZPO0c2nXTeb6LqtoiYj3pZdvLOEJ6BMC4OZp9/s1600/LM_painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRHX41nvj4OKkwWHw4oGfeLysEBhjILnRHCXuaUtAqk1Yx-X1Uy0_bXb5hyphenhyphenT1nTfOEUGJfBDRWqGdq3Yk6NBuvRpwxJBFNqx9bVz0MhnZPO0c2nXTeb6LqtoiYj3pZdvLOEJ6BMC4OZp9/s1600/LM_painting.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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In conjunction with the upcoming Magic Lantern convention I
have decided to include more items on my site. I thought I would start with
some peepshow related items. I have posted a new page of peep eggs, these small,
alabaster egg-shaped souvenir viewers from the 19<sup>th</sup> century, often
sold as keepsakes at popular attractions of the day. The peep egg, with a small
viewing lens, displayed between one and three pictures. Some had a single view.
Others had a rotating spindle with one, two or three images, and some had
images on two surfaces and “pretty colored stones” on the third. I am also posting
a series of magic lantern slides in which there is a peepshow. These are some
of my favorite slides. Finally I have long ignored the folding peepshow on my
site. Descendants of the “Engelbrecht peep shows”, 18<sup>th</sup> century views
looked at in a box these 19<sup>th</sup> century views are attached and fold
out for your <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>viewing pleasure.</div>
</div>
Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-86641379482406464932014-05-01T16:30:00.003-07:002014-05-01T16:30:39.411-07:00The Magic Lantern Society of the US & Canada's 16th International Convention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDINEmGhV4XoaaBRd2O5W-jGNf_cewnZZfbyXdgdWi01MkfR1URz_g6IRMXKX-A3dJJK51KogmKuAcT6ipVcR0OBYg5dbO6Lf6k8XWkv3CwHqDTDchvsViEomG5H3GWJRXaNJBuqvOj5UZ/s1600/ml_conv_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDINEmGhV4XoaaBRd2O5W-jGNf_cewnZZfbyXdgdWi01MkfR1URz_g6IRMXKX-A3dJJK51KogmKuAcT6ipVcR0OBYg5dbO6Lf6k8XWkv3CwHqDTDchvsViEomG5H3GWJRXaNJBuqvOj5UZ/s1600/ml_conv_logo.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Magic Lantern Society of the US & Canada will be holding its 16<sup>th</sup> International Convention in Boston from July 10-13<sup>th</sup>. </div>
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The convention will be held at the museum that houses the Richard Balzer Collection. There is a terrific program, over two and a half days, including magic lantern shows and presentations about the history of the magic lantern and other forms of visual entertainment. </div>
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Come hear about 18<sup>th</sup> century shows in Venice and Phantasmagoria performances in Madrid. Come learn about the great 19<sup>th</sup> century traveling show, “Théatre Mécanique Morieux de Paris. Come learn about the Pilgrims Progress Panorama and be entertained by stories about the Great Snazelle, magician and magic-lantern showman. There will be an exhibition of magic lantern material and an auction, open to all who attend. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5neopurFIiHWLCwT7UYxdJxYKzxNqeNEX_1tkgxvfuKTLZvCN5ulDl4fvJwqEYlh30_eJcVwvvwhR4m9SUbMRN4aJgt5KjR2elLslUgui6EHAhe6Mz-bbKxPR-ObsDhLx_9yB9OJ8s_1/s1600/ml-print-trip_around_world-0256_small.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5neopurFIiHWLCwT7UYxdJxYKzxNqeNEX_1tkgxvfuKTLZvCN5ulDl4fvJwqEYlh30_eJcVwvvwhR4m9SUbMRN4aJgt5KjR2elLslUgui6EHAhe6Mz-bbKxPR-ObsDhLx_9yB9OJ8s_1/s1600/ml-print-trip_around_world-0256_small.png" height="181" width="320" /></a></div>
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There will be the world premiere of the new documentary about Magic Lantern Society member Terry Borton. The film is titled “A Magic-Lantern Life: The Story of the American Magic-Lantern Theater” and on Saturday night, there will be an evening of Magic Lantern Entertainment at the iconic Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. Starting at 7:30pm five lantern showmen will each give fifteen minutes shows. Open to the public, this will be an evening not to be missed!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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For more information about convention attendance and registration please contact Richard Balzer at dickbalzer@gmail.com</div>
Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-36384914811123375602014-01-01T11:07:00.000-08:002014-01-01T11:13:55.252-08:00A DUTCH TREAT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How many incredible things can you see in four days? Who
knows but in four days in the Netherlands I saw more than I could have imagined.
It started with a visit to Amsterdam’s world famous Rijksmuseum, which has been
closed because of restoration work for ten years. As well as seeing some
Rembrandts and Vermeers I wanted to see a recently mounted show of eighteenth
century Dutch magic lantern slides and was going to be shown around by the
shows curator, Tristan Mostert. Tristan proved an engaging and very
knowledgeable host. He showed me through the area of the museum for special
collections, where, tucked away in a small room we came upon a group of 18<sup>th</sup>
century wonders including: two bulls eye lanterns, two walls of slides, and three
diafanoramas (painted glass scenes on different sheets of glass). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywPyaWpWOhr3njUpZfwB1ulYNIkQpTpmyZoLsdOdwyohUH5NWtrR4Ky_RGFDAh5LtSnieqXKKqw-qnooydyUtGX1kxdNGYG6AkLKkTuGqYtakh99wz3shm2tG572jPpbRC-RR-iLtSoT8/s1600/photo+1+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywPyaWpWOhr3njUpZfwB1ulYNIkQpTpmyZoLsdOdwyohUH5NWtrR4Ky_RGFDAh5LtSnieqXKKqw-qnooydyUtGX1kxdNGYG6AkLKkTuGqYtakh99wz3shm2tG572jPpbRC-RR-iLtSoT8/s200/photo+1+.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7B6mCP8lD4F9CWForBen7Pq3KALOAH8A9zBLtgYY5L_ROD9w8hfoPDuEBwDtS9f5fGIUdM0kLQ9tYp50mGceIbblUh5cu7OCh9dBHO-4SCArJYfk7YGfsqScVGAiZzCK1c8pz4RWWKx_/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7B6mCP8lD4F9CWForBen7Pq3KALOAH8A9zBLtgYY5L_ROD9w8hfoPDuEBwDtS9f5fGIUdM0kLQ9tYp50mGceIbblUh5cu7OCh9dBHO-4SCArJYfk7YGfsqScVGAiZzCK1c8pz4RWWKx_/s200/photo+2.JPG" width="175" /></a></div>
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Just behind
us the images were being projected on a wall so visitors could not only look at
the objects but also see how they would have been viewed. </div>
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When I was finally done looking at the slides Tristan asked,
what else I would like to see. I asked him to show me eight of his favorite
items in the museum and explain why he liked them. Tristan is a historian by
training, and as we wandered around the museum he selected several pieces of
historical significance, most of which I would not have noticed. By the time he
explained the historical importance of the piece, what it was doing in the
particular room and why he found it interesting, I was thoroughly captivated.
It was one of the most enjoyable museum visits I have ever had.<br />
<br /></div>
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The next morning I set out early and was first in line at
the Van Gogh Museum. I had been warned how crowded both the Rijksmuseum and the
Van Gogh would be but both were virtually empty when they opened at nine. I had
no sense of crowds until 10:30 and by then I had soaked up about as much as I
could. It was a great treat. I saw many images I was familiar with and many
more that I wasn’t, a wonderful way to start the day.<br />
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Next was a trip to Scheveningen to the home and museum (Nico’s
Tooverlantaarnmuseum) of Henk Kranenburg. The museum is housed on the ground
floor and the minute you enter you feel the warmth of the place, cabinets full
of lanterns, and optical toys line the entrance hallway. Next you enter the
large museum room, which is also home of the forty-seat theatre. There are
prints from floor to ceiling, decorating the fourteen feet walls. At the top of
the walls there are shelves full of lanterns. There is also a second level balcony
where Henk generally performs his shows, surrounded by six lanterns, boxes upon
boxes of slides and a sound system where he whips up the wizardry.<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47LP1M71SGWk16RdQzHsmJvGcDVX-MCOMy3us1YTrape3xZfyhSkr2AkarpFtW5ca-2DVtQRCpiZHj-Qt63_6Mcq2O7TX5PAVnKF5bIwSRJBLnCqx2gWnqLE7MPGnyFWhFr9bsUrnYEq6/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47LP1M71SGWk16RdQzHsmJvGcDVX-MCOMy3us1YTrape3xZfyhSkr2AkarpFtW5ca-2DVtQRCpiZHj-Qt63_6Mcq2O7TX5PAVnKF5bIwSRJBLnCqx2gWnqLE7MPGnyFWhFr9bsUrnYEq6/s320/photo+3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Henk asked what
would I like to see and I said I would love to see some of his early slides. He
disappeared upstairs and began bringing down boxes. There were a great number of 18<sup>th</sup> century slides
and among them a few stunning Musschenbroek slides. For any serious collector
of magic lantern slides viewing 17<sup>th</sup> or 18<sup>th</sup> century slides
produced by the Musschenbroek family firm of Leiden is a big treat both because
of their age and their artistry. Henk asked if I’d like to see them projected.
I nodded. It was such a treat to see them projected. </div>
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Later we looked at other unusual slides including an eight-part,
Polytechnic-size dissolving set of slides depicting a woman’s dream of her
life. In all that time we never got to slip slides, chromotropes, lever slides,
and regular dissolving views. I could hardly believe it when Henk said he’d
been collecting for only thirteen years. He has created an impressive
collection.</div>
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Early in the evening we moved upstairs for a sumptuous lamb
dinner prepared by Henk’s partner Robert te Pas. After dinner I took the tram
and train back to Amsterdam. It had been a wonderful day. </div>
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The next morning I set off by tram & train to Zeist where
I was met by Margreet Wagenaar. I met Margreet and her husband, Willem Albert,
who died in 2011, thirty years ago and last visited their home 20 years ago.
Willem Albert was one of the great magic lantern showmen and after many years
taking his show on the road built a theatre in his house.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Margreet had planned the entire day. Her daughter, Elisabeth,
was only available for a couple of hours to project some slides and she soon
arrived with her own son. I said I’d fancy seeing some of their Musschenbroek
slides and what Elisabeth fetched from the attic was truly staggering.
Elisabeth projected a large number of amazing slides over the next hour. </div>
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We paused for
lunch and then Margreet drove me to Utrecht. We were met by her son, Joost (who
I first met when he was a teenager). He is now a judge in Utrecht. He was kind
enough to take us on a walking tour of the architecturally rich city. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Margreet and I returned to her house and headed up to the
attic, passing the study that is home to one of the few known Musschenbroek
lanterns, and a beautiful eighteenth century peepshow before making our way up
the stairs to the attic so I could dive into the shelves and shelves of slides.
I almost never tire when looking at slides but it was all too much. After an
hour and half I knew I had reached my visual limit. I had begun to stare at the
vast shelves holding thousands of more images. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7390IwVCVvO1t2tL82Cr6iHrWu6w9SJe0rXNb7kV-pyry_HhS_7lww3kA3IHzqakShjXmCzNNwVlyZHtQLMLhRIWjxVnytpUjhCqq00BBXNav6h9m8Rk-sSvpxv3Dnq2HRIUqOWd5Q94/s1600/photo+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7390IwVCVvO1t2tL82Cr6iHrWu6w9SJe0rXNb7kV-pyry_HhS_7lww3kA3IHzqakShjXmCzNNwVlyZHtQLMLhRIWjxVnytpUjhCqq00BBXNav6h9m8Rk-sSvpxv3Dnq2HRIUqOWd5Q94/s320/photo+7.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Soon we were off for Kortenhoef <span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13pt;">to</span> see Annet Duller’s magic lantern show to be held in the barn onthe land of her cousin, Pieter Dekker. The barn is generally used for the restoration of antique, flat-bottomed fishing boats but it proved to be a wonderful site for a magic lantern show. The area nearest the large green doors leading into the barn was turned into a receiving hall with food and drinks laid out. Beyond that, a larger space bordered by the thick-planked walls held sixty chairs, arranged in front of a white muslin screen stretched across poles. An English biunnial lantern sat in the middle of the audience. Annet, a natural storyteller, held everyone's interest with her slides and her stories. The room was full of oh and ahs as well as laughter greeting her stories. It was a great end to a great day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOm8tW8I8yIksrPpKaW04KYS8vEHreEYnUzLQgQyx9n0wHdreYUCGOBrfKYmeNoBlq6MvsI5-AgjD0IjsXXdtuozT5I8VfiNQZLY_DDSRKvD2uiMMRySciO1NYet8PvlS3x9dil6zcna4K/s1600/photo+9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOm8tW8I8yIksrPpKaW04KYS8vEHreEYnUzLQgQyx9n0wHdreYUCGOBrfKYmeNoBlq6MvsI5-AgjD0IjsXXdtuozT5I8VfiNQZLY_DDSRKvD2uiMMRySciO1NYet8PvlS3x9dil6zcna4K/s200/photo+9.JPG" width="188" /></a></div>
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My last day was a change of pace. I wasn’t going to see another magic lantern collection. Instead I was going to spend the day with an old friend, Ruud Hoff, who had moved out of Amsterdam several years ago. He drove down from Friesland to pick me up and drive me back up to see his partner, Dian, and their home in Pietersbierium. On our way out
of Amsterdam we passed by a concert hall featuring a huge mesmerizing
photograph of Nelson Mandela plastered across its side. I told Ruud I’d like to
stop and get a picture. He kept driving saying he was the person who took that
picture June 16, 1990 during Mandela’s first trip out of South Africa as a free
man and would show me the original at his house.<br />
<br />
<br />
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We drove for more than an hour and half until the landscape
flattened out. We left the highway
and passed through a series of small towns. Franeker was one of the towns where
we stopped to visit the world’s oldest working planetarium. The one room planetarium
was the work of Eise Eisinga, who completed his living room planetarium in
1781. We walked into the living room and looked up to the ceiling to be greeted
by celestial skies. It was utterly amazing, not only because it was it an
accurate depiction of the known planetary system, but because it also
represented an accurate system for keeping track of the calendar and time. </div>
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After that we went back to Ruud’s. Ruud is a collector and showed
me around his collection of Kodak cameras. The day and evening passed quickly
and at about 9pm he drove me back to Amsterdam. I thanked him for the day and
watched as he left me for the long drive back home.</div>
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By the time I walked down the three flights of stairs in the
building at which I was staying, got back on the tram and headed out to
Schiphol Airport, I was tired. Not only was my mind full of happy </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5eI1inL9RSg0ta9irn6DberwkMAGG-hI94nQQ-FNh0VJxkazhkNX_1s5ZTbtfLfibhYSuzZ2vC-94R3SWZUYDYjmB_qa8eJzqOuiPwDyAPZ7Bd4CrtBUcgKbV9yKqervoOzIZj1x8_XE/s1600/photo+11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5eI1inL9RSg0ta9irn6DberwkMAGG-hI94nQQ-FNh0VJxkazhkNX_1s5ZTbtfLfibhYSuzZ2vC-94R3SWZUYDYjmB_qa8eJzqOuiPwDyAPZ7Bd4CrtBUcgKbV9yKqervoOzIZj1x8_XE/s400/photo+11.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
memories but
my hands were clutching a few 18<sup>th</sup> century slides including a Musschenbroek lever slide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have just put a page of 18<sup>th</sup> century slides up
on my site.</div>
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Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-89101561988745196352013-10-17T14:21:00.000-07:002013-10-17T14:21:38.109-07:00The Collection has a tumblr!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XpikoSTHvZTm82gFT8HumEucCgZ8oLWSplp48NJGnQttpaHuMqNO3aDDfQx47jg8g6kQn_xPx9TLUAB-uMiMUOS0NGYl2ufF61uLnhyphenhyphen_N3HgVte7uKeU_spru7VI-Yf9jSg_0xSCTRL/s1600/zoe_horse_rear.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XpikoSTHvZTm82gFT8HumEucCgZ8oLWSplp48NJGnQttpaHuMqNO3aDDfQx47jg8g6kQn_xPx9TLUAB-uMiMUOS0NGYl2ufF61uLnhyphenhyphen_N3HgVte7uKeU_spru7VI-Yf9jSg_0xSCTRL/s320/zoe_horse_rear.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We're delighted to introduce our tumblr as another way to enjoy the collection.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://dickbalzer.tumblr.com/"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kYH6iTNtyMxxljzazbOnVnSh0StXkGeW1KhtjRZAU0FPk3OxSPaufhlHX4ibn8pFameGKbZ263Qyj5WLZz3T-R1d8Oa46nu4qW-PRbRDMOFJH0DIfhx8yegsFaiZcMIYkvQSIV0w0hnF/s320/tumblr_link.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
New animated gifs are added every monday evening.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7fE1J95b099NJ8P13KEc8WdfwWYup2QGXb-1ltziZW6bwNRpjwaEUzr2uYWA0rOo0qYCQPtC4AeIj-ljYpm6YjiBNLnUFKnBAONbih8FM5GDWmsvUkFp2892xIdA1eGFBGsbnMnnVzjw/s1600/lion_eat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7fE1J95b099NJ8P13KEc8WdfwWYup2QGXb-1ltziZW6bwNRpjwaEUzr2uYWA0rOo0qYCQPtC4AeIj-ljYpm6YjiBNLnUFKnBAONbih8FM5GDWmsvUkFp2892xIdA1eGFBGsbnMnnVzjw/s320/lion_eat.gif" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-40818691971635939012013-08-15T16:57:00.001-07:002013-08-15T16:57:48.359-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Fantasmagorie<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In my last post I
wrote about ghost projection and mentioned the great fascination at the turn of
the 19<sup>th</sup> century with a particular type of magic lantern
entertainment that called up apparitions. In England, the shows were called
Phantasmagoria and in France Fantasmagorie. I was incredibly lucky to recently
find this fabulous small broadside (6” x 9”) c.1799 advertising Étienne</span><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">-Gaspard Robertson’s Fantasmagorie show held in the Convent des
Capucines. Robertson’s shows were a great success, starting with his first show
in Paris in 1798. At the end of 1798 he moved to more spacious and atmospheric
quarters in the Convent. He gave his first show there on January 3,1799 and
continued at that location until 1803.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The broadside cleverly contains the visual power of a
striking wood engraving and bold </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSOaEh4li4_Snf5zuRtjsLgd8wv0nTLkkCk_GMZcwVgnCagCS6Xw8PI8Qt9tx-uDZHcwZJUOGpLoXXYexX1JIkBDE2pk4L0JFnHS7lVu4MyzZzja18PEi3oLOOw1aW_BNG9XJjyixxw1F/s1600/MLP-Phantasmagoria-4137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSOaEh4li4_Snf5zuRtjsLgd8wv0nTLkkCk_GMZcwVgnCagCS6Xw8PI8Qt9tx-uDZHcwZJUOGpLoXXYexX1JIkBDE2pk4L0JFnHS7lVu4MyzZzja18PEi3oLOOw1aW_BNG9XJjyixxw1F/s320/MLP-Phantasmagoria-4137.JPG" width="219" /></a></div>
text proclaiming a show that will produce
Apparitions, <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Specters of Phantoms and Ghosts. What’s more,
the assembled patrons will witness, as the broadside proclaims, “experiments
with the new fluid know by the name of Galvinism whose application gives
temporary movement to bodies whose life has departed.” (This was based on the
work of the Italian physician, Luigi Galvani who applied electrical current to
frog’s legs, which seemed to stir life in dead frog). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Robertson’s patrons entered the convent and
moved through rooms where they might see the experiment in Galvinism, peepshows
and optical illusions before being seated in a darkened room. They must have
been startled when images appeared as from nowhere onto the screen. Often these
figures would not only get larger but they would seem to leave the screen. The
lanternist and lantern were hidden from view behind the screen. The lanternist
could make the image increase in size by moving the lantern, which was on
rails, further back from the screen. Music added to the effect and Robertson
employed the Franklin Harmonica. Benjamin Franklin invented a form of the glass
harmonica, a musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls of various
sizes and musical tones are made by means of friction. The glass harmonica
produces an eerie piercing sound which you can feel in your chest and must have
helped create just the right atmosphere for the spectral images appearing on
the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">For more information on the history of the Fantasmagorie
read </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Laurent Mannoni’s excellent book: <u>The Great Art Of Light and
Shadow </u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-58055068240659549042013-01-30T20:32:00.000-08:002013-01-30T20:32:24.047-08:00Ghost Projection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A year ago I made a post about Pepper’s Ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It began with, “Who has not been scared
and at the same time excited by a ghost story or the inexplicable appearance of
an apparition. Fascination with ghosts and the afterworld have gripped
audiences for centuries. Our appetite for such titillation seems insatiable.
Ghost shows are nothing new. Writers, magicians, and lanternists have long used
the popular fascination with ghosts and apparitions for their advantage. From
its earliest inception the magic lantern has employed ghost figures to frighten
and to entertain audiences. Some of the very earliest magic lantern images in
the last part of the 17<sup>th</sup> century were of ghosts and demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Calling forth such figures reached a
new height in the late 1700s and early 1800s largely due to two showmen and
their shows. The Fantasmagorie shows, popularized by Belgian showman <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Éttiene-Gaspard Robertson </span> and
the Phantasmagoria shows of magician Paul de Philipsthal, called forth
apparitions onto the screen. Their shows ingeniously employed rear projection.
The lanternist was hidden from the audience behind the screen. In a darkened
room the images would appear on the screen as if from nowhere. By moving the
lantern, the figure could be made smaller or larger such that the ghosts would
appear and then menacingly approach the audience.” </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oAIHZzmwV3OSOxPPMrui0Y8jaDqGs2xmiLfOL52xs1d3vHwYAdI11ejcEdPPIjSQ_RLxloTP5HW1igTbzNjGruQKyrwCcJjlC4mfm_S0N1v7XfLtNwfKnAXoi_LiD0pMCKX7pCis2fUD/s1600/ML-Phantasmagoria-4114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oAIHZzmwV3OSOxPPMrui0Y8jaDqGs2xmiLfOL52xs1d3vHwYAdI11ejcEdPPIjSQ_RLxloTP5HW1igTbzNjGruQKyrwCcJjlC4mfm_S0N1v7XfLtNwfKnAXoi_LiD0pMCKX7pCis2fUD/s320/ML-Phantasmagoria-4114.jpg" width="276" /></a>A recent purchase of the book<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Aufschlüsse zur Magie aus geprüften Erfahrungen über verborgene
philosophische Wissenschaften und verdeckte Geheimnisse der Natur</i> (1790) by
the German writer Karl von Eckartshausen has brought me back to the idea of the
appearance of phantoms and ghosts. Eckartshausen wrote about a wide range of
topics including alchemy, mysticism, and magic. In this book he describes how
to create a ghost illusion and the first print illustrates the ghost figure
hovering over a pedestal. The second illustrates how Eckartshausen employed a
hidden magic lantern to project an image off a mirror to create the effect.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGr3Kg9vNCDw_ZG4RSwDpuWzBaXbZXv8ReoZ9bOoeb5rH-6D6mA0pCnkyCLg6QM9j2IEg5qvhHXR6uaLOCeOIidpNI7a0Oe43bVbnoNhJW4X5wRe4250OQ9WvEVyAh5jiI6UD422hosiC/s1600/MLP-4112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGr3Kg9vNCDw_ZG4RSwDpuWzBaXbZXv8ReoZ9bOoeb5rH-6D6mA0pCnkyCLg6QM9j2IEg5qvhHXR6uaLOCeOIidpNI7a0Oe43bVbnoNhJW4X5wRe4250OQ9WvEVyAh5jiI6UD422hosiC/s320/MLP-4112.JPG" width="193" /></a>I can’t resist including two more engravings from Eckharsthausen’s
book although they are not of a ghost projection, but rather of what must have
been a remarkable trick. Eckhartshausen would, he states, take someone for an
evening stroll and at some point would turn toward a wall and mysteriously and
probably frighteningly, a figure would appear on the wall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The print illustrates the trick at the
moment of the projection. The other engraving shows the lantern that was
employed and was hidden under his
coat. You can see the ingenious plunger used to extinguish the light and the carrying stick used to light the lantern. If
it actually worked it must have been wonderful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now back to the
tale of ghost projection. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Éttiene-Gaspard
Robertson </span>certainly was aware of the work of Eckartshausen and
created his own ghost effects. The image below is the frontispiece from Robertson’s
Mémoires<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Récréatifs,
Scientifiques Et Anecdotiques</span></i> (1831) and shows the impact of the
appearance of apparitions on an audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second illustration from a book published in 1811 shows a ghost
projection with the lanternist hidden behind the screen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For at least a half-century following the Robertson’s first shows
the Phantasmagoria was a big part of lantern entertainment. The two broadsides,
one for a German shows, another for a Russian show illustrate the spread of
these entertainments.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Those wanting to learn more about ghost shows and
Phantasmagoria entertainment should read Mervyn Heard’s book Phantasmagoria,
The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern.</div>
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I have put a number of prints and broadsides relating to the
Phantasmagoria on my web site. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-65014843471252380582012-06-13T08:09:00.000-07:002012-06-13T08:09:01.337-07:00Joseph Boggs Beale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Gn027rs7Ve7_BeAHfKy83VERx1mEp4PBc6_flmHQNCrL8bfuUyxwhgfcG32w4gNdk41bTQvuj_22A-RRjFtqAoryhMhAPLB3WafN8QgEy0tSKDUlzkj3_PzRLtDj8ZhfB8h1GkV7PlbC/s1600/ML+psinyinh-Beale+drawing+and+lantern+slide+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Gn027rs7Ve7_BeAHfKy83VERx1mEp4PBc6_flmHQNCrL8bfuUyxwhgfcG32w4gNdk41bTQvuj_22A-RRjFtqAoryhMhAPLB3WafN8QgEy0tSKDUlzkj3_PzRLtDj8ZhfB8h1GkV7PlbC/s320/ML+psinyinh-Beale+drawing+and+lantern+slide+1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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Joseph Boggs Beale’s artistic work might not have seemed
significant to me were it not for the fact that a large part of his career was
spent in the employ of the firm of C.W. Briggs (lantern slide makers) producing
drawings to be reproduced as lantern slides. I had a number of Beale slides but
only one of his drawings, a romanticized scene seemingly extolling the virtues
of capitalism with a prosperous boss and his busy workers. I had the lantern
slide produced from the drawing and I liked having both the original drawing
and the slide. I did not know until last year when I had the opportunity to buy
some other Beale drawings that this drawing was from a temperance series called
“A Drunkard’s Reform”. The drawing was not meant, as I had formerly imagined,
to be about the rewards of capitalism but rather the return to honest labor and
promotion to foreman of a man almost ruined by drink. I have grown in my appreciation
of Beale’s work and been fortunate enough to add several pieces to my
collection in the last two years. </div>
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Who was Joseph Boggs Beale (1841-1926)? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was, a largely unremembered
Philadelphia artist who worked in the last half of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
worked for a variety of publications including <i>Frank Leslie's Weekly, Harper's</i>,
and the<i> Daily Graphic</i> before going on to work for C.W. Briggs. Between
1881-1915 he made more than 2000 drawings which were reproduced as magic
lantern slides. His drawings, and the slides that were produced from them, covered
an amazingly wide view of American life. His work included Bible Stories,
Popular Literature, History, Temperance, Folk Tales and Comic Scenes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A partial list of his work would
include Pilgrim’s Progress, Marley’s Ghost, Paul Revere’s Ride, The Life of Lincoln,
Yankee Doodle, The Star Spangled Banner The Raven, Hiawatha, Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
A Christmas Carol and The Night Before Christmas.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIn0iKfiK_yRJfe6Z8ON6lYDi1EMMTQ-jAUtsSaiI6Ce4tOafLSbj3pghHaE38Y3rEkBueTyVSAy_kg7LwI-Ltz55ku8jCM-4OWINHGMrPiGYcVL9qu-9UpmabjjZLsaCNsvHVKONtTnS/s1600/ml-beale-life_of_lincoln6-3804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIn0iKfiK_yRJfe6Z8ON6lYDi1EMMTQ-jAUtsSaiI6Ce4tOafLSbj3pghHaE38Y3rEkBueTyVSAy_kg7LwI-Ltz55ku8jCM-4OWINHGMrPiGYcVL9qu-9UpmabjjZLsaCNsvHVKONtTnS/s400/ml-beale-life_of_lincoln6-3804.JPG" width="398" /></a></div>
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In 1940 Life magazine did a piece on Beale that served to mark
a slight resurgence of interest in his work. The article referred to Beale as America’s
foremost magic lantern painter, not that there was much competition or
recognition for such a title. Terry Borton, the proprietor of the American
Magic-Lantern Theater, has for the past twenty years tirelessly promoted Beale’s
work and used slides based on Beale’s drawings for his magic lantern shows. Terry
and his wife Debbie have finished the manuscript of a soon to be published book
about Beale and his work entitled <b>Before The Movies </b>which will undoubtedly add
greatly to the awareness of Beale as an artist of American life and history.</div>
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Although Beale worked well into the 20th century his artistic
style is firmly planted in the 19th century with a kind of heroic grandiosity
and unbridled optimism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of
Beale’s drawings seem overly sweet and others sadly capture a stereotyping
common at the end of the 19th century. The best of Beale’s drawings catch grand
figures <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>caught in melodramatic
moments and are packed with detail. They are worth a look and my collection of
Beale material is now up on my site.</div>
</div>Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-43126714300159630762012-05-21T14:50:00.001-07:002012-05-21T14:50:16.636-07:00New Praxinoscope Animations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7PzVzKmAM5sh2qzwtKaRQGOOfjKlWjXKlYkb8XvDVgWypVJ3ttx3r5fzjbe5yJxQmBldR2KdLg2I_UfiMNybbNdGtargjCth2DEYAW0M0IGWs_6KolRbonDP3L5-ggNXnxSNXKiC8iXA/s1600/1-gridB.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7PzVzKmAM5sh2qzwtKaRQGOOfjKlWjXKlYkb8XvDVgWypVJ3ttx3r5fzjbe5yJxQmBldR2KdLg2I_UfiMNybbNdGtargjCth2DEYAW0M0IGWs_6KolRbonDP3L5-ggNXnxSNXKiC8iXA/s1600/1-gridB.gif" /></a></div>
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Since I've started working with Dick on his collection, some of my favorite pieces to study and work with have been Praxinoscope strips. As you can see in this animated set, the images are impressively rendered, and the actions are both charming and convincing in their motion. These strips were produced by artists who had none of the technological conveniences of a modern animator such as myself. I am constantly amazed by the refined technique that can be found in these works of art that predate the likes of Winsor McCay and Walt Disney by several decades.<br />
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You can find these praxinoscopes and many others on <a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Praxinoscopes.309.0.html">the collection website.</a>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-6113013522416122322012-04-05T19:40:00.001-07:002012-04-14T11:37:25.320-07:00The Eidophusikon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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MOVING PICTURES proclaimed this 1786 broadside and what an
extraordinary entertainment the Eidophusikon must have been. It predated the
most famous moving pictures, the movies, by more than 100 years. Everything about the show was intended
to challenge how a picture was viewed. Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, the
creator of the Eidophusikon, was an accomplished French painter who at the age
of thirty-one moved to London in 1771. Soon after his arrival he took a job
working as a scene designer for David Garrick at the Drury Lane theatre. He
made quite a name for himself for the life-like scenes he created and would master
many techniques in the art of stage design and lighting that he would employ
when he opened the doors for the Eidophusikon (Greek for images of nature) on
February 26,1781 at his home on Lisle Street. </div>
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An evening’s entertainment consisted of as many as five tableaux,
each cleverly combining a familiar scene or place with a dramatic moment. His
first shows included a London View with an aurora effect, a view of Naples with
a sunset and concluded with a storm at sea. The entertainment was held in one
of the lushly decorated parlour rooms that could accommodate 130 people. There is only one known image of this
space, a watercolor by Edward Burney showing the interior of the room before
the show. There is a bench with a couple of patrons sitting and others standing
around. </div>
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At the front of the room there was what can best be described
as either a very large picture, or a miniature stage. The framed picture was ten
feet wide and six feet high. Unlike other pictures however the opening had a
depth of eight feet “setting the stage” for a very different sort of picture. The
audience sat facing the picture, then the lights would be dimmed, the show would
begin and the scene would appear to come to life. With the artful use of
lighting nightfall would appear as the sun slowly faded, or the brilliance of
an aurora would light up the painted sky and possibly most powerfully an ominous
sky would darken, foretelling an oncoming storm, soon to be joined by the
appearance of lightning, accompanied by the sound of thunder, and a three
dimensional mechanically controlled ship built to scale would glide across the
picture sailing into a distance created by painting on several different panels. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1wyj-TFe-79Bdp558ZQHwaOIobSPa39YZiQnpTOSC975_K6ffjO0HE664LiwZ1QBuX8AqKnLTvA5xqFUmlLunT5RU2b1hT5kYCbzFqq5i6DYigg5SqhYD6NclUsKW6NZSCe9p_uudg67/s1600/PS-Engelbrecht+box+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1wyj-TFe-79Bdp558ZQHwaOIobSPa39YZiQnpTOSC975_K6ffjO0HE664LiwZ1QBuX8AqKnLTvA5xqFUmlLunT5RU2b1hT5kYCbzFqq5i6DYigg5SqhYD6NclUsKW6NZSCe9p_uudg67/s200/PS-Engelbrecht+box+4.JPG" width="200" /></a> It all must have been quite magical. There had been other
attempts to change how pictures were viewed in the eighteenth century. The peepshow employed many of them. Martin
Engelbrecht executed large numbers of views-scenes created on multiple layers
of paper- to be viewed in parlour peepshows which attempted to make a scene
more life-like by creating depth. Viewers of large public square peepshows often
saw pin-pricked pictures, which in candlelight gave the appearance of a day
scene transforming to night. There were even hand-painted scenes on multiple layers
of glass created to entertain viewers and create a multi-dimensional painting.
Yet none had movement and all were limited to the constraints of the size of
the peepshow box.</div>
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Loutherbourg employed the wide array of skills he had
successfully used in the theatre as painter, set designer, lighting expert,
creator of mechanical moving figures in creating his Eidophusikon. He opened
the peepshow box, created room behind and on the side of the picture opening,
so that he could manipulate what was seen and bring a mixture of lighting,
movement, sound and painting together to create a very new and different form
of entertainment. Part of Loutherbourg’s genius was to create a shared space
where a larger group could seemingly enter a picture and experience the scene. His choice of how large to make his
“screen” was an interesting one. He clearly didn’t want to replicate a theatre,
an experience the public already knew. He chose instead two dimensional
pictures to see if he could create a new experience when viewing a picture.</div>
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This remarkable show closed at Lisle Street after less than
two years. It did, however, reappear numerous times in different places. The
next appearance was in 1786 at rooms on Exeter Exchange with increased seating
for 200 people. Three years later another form of moving pictures, the
Panorama, would take London by a storm.</div>
</div>Richard Balzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964907762164789381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-63728106884389934602012-03-09T12:56:00.000-08:002012-03-09T15:52:20.849-08:00Two Additions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Part of the fun of collecting are the stories that accompany both things found, and, the agonizing stories of things that got away. I’ve heard countless tales about a wonderful item missed, often by a matter of a few minutes or even seconds at a flea market, an antique show and, these days, on ebay. Most collector have regrets about passing on something because the price was too high or can recall something missed because a dealer who said he would hold an item did not. Then there are stories about things a collector would love to have in his or her collection but never had an opportunity to buy. I have heard all these stories and have plenty of my own. It is a great pleasure that two striking images, one a print, the other a poster that I have long wanted and which have somehow avoided me, have recently come into my collection.</div>
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A few years after I began collecting, more than thirty years ago, I was visiting Clignancourt, the huge Paris flea market, with my friend and fellow collector, Jean-Philippe Salier and I remember first seeing Jules Chéret’s terrific poster of the Musée Grevin (the wax museum), where Emile Reynaud in 1888 first showed his Pantomimes Lumineuses -animated sequences. Animated sequences is hardly an adequate term to describe these wonderful shows during which his hand-painted images would flicker and move on a screen for up to fifteen minutes. This was seven years before the Lumière brothers would show their first movies. Reynaud employed something he called the Théâtre Optique to create the projection. Hidden from the audience behind the screen, this bulky equipment employed among other things both a very large praxinoscope and a magic lantern and served Reynaud well as he created his magic.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpnqVhyphenhyphenO07ZzEItAv-nsj3Ev-5Te8AN72m5FCdtHEvMxJRe2Kv6TuinrgPAxSAE6N80FCZqRSrI14FfYe2cHE4G8TZX6CydWmRHWdetQJ11cJfLkRnNc_hPVpOWErbCyiUkPKhyphenhyphenUKeei9/s1600/Optical+toy-+prax+print-Pantomimes+Lumineuses+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpnqVhyphenhyphenO07ZzEItAv-nsj3Ev-5Te8AN72m5FCdtHEvMxJRe2Kv6TuinrgPAxSAE6N80FCZqRSrI14FfYe2cHE4G8TZX6CydWmRHWdetQJ11cJfLkRnNc_hPVpOWErbCyiUkPKhyphenhyphenUKeei9/s320/Optical+toy-+prax+print-Pantomimes+Lumineuses+1.jpg" width="220" /></a>I thought the poster was quite beautiful but priced at $1,500, it was well beyond my budget. Over the next ten years I visited Clignancourt many times on “hunting trips” with Jean-Phillipe and occasionally we saw a copy of the Chéret poster. I kept repeating that if I ever saw it for $1,000 I would buy it, but that never happened and when I was prepared to pay a little more the price had gone up further. A few years ago a French dealer offered me a copy for the incredible price of 6,000 euros. I offered 3,000 and he laughed. I figured I probably would never own a copy and yet a few months ago I was amazed to have finally bought a copy at auction for $1,000. Sadly Jean-Philippe is no longer alive yet he remains the first person with whom I wanted to share the story of finally landing the elusive poster.</div>
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It is a wonderful piece. Jules Chéret, was one of France’s master poster designers and a mentor to Toulouse-Lautrec and others. He produced a series of stunning posters. I have no idea why the price for this particular poster was so much more reasonable. It could be because right on the woman’s dress there is a stamp. It is a tax stamp and in Paris at the time such posters were made, a stamp tax had to be paid before the poster could be put up. Some buyers might have found the stamp’s placement aesthetically unattractive. It didn’t bother me. In fact, I liked it because it showed this was a poster that was actually used. </div>
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If the Chéret poster was an object I didn’t own because I thought I couldn’t afford it, then the print of The Bartholomew Fair Fan was a print I had long wanted but had never had seen for sale and had never been offered. I long knew of it and had seen copies in many collections. I was envious that my friend, Ricky Jay, had two versions and the image graces the cover of his book <u>Jay's Journal of Anomalies</u>. When I was preparing my book on peepshow images I used a picture of the print from a book. I bought this print recently and wasn’t at all bothered by its overall condition-not great- or the fact that part of one of the fair’s visitor’s faces was now a small hole.</div>
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Bartholomew Fair, like Southwick Fair, was one of many London annual fairs that were particularly popular in the 18<sup>th</sup> century. In 1824 the London firm of J. F Setchel produced a print of a view of Bartholomew Fair in 1721. The British Museum not only has three versions of the print, both black and white and hand colored, but also the original study drawing made by an unknown source around 1730. The original design was intended to produce a fan that would be given away as a souvenir to those who the fair. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwedLDpenm0LOlVpWGBKPA67opAz7DwgLQdpmEbH5uKAWZXBE6M0fF-nPKlEBgPnwRJimqT1EjghtC54iC0B5xMmeqQ1gBEHY-fwSvFC-1Y8UdxSSVcBhFa2tXJEGmt8GL1rFHcfTVIIo/s1600/ps-fan-batholemew_fair-3667a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwedLDpenm0LOlVpWGBKPA67opAz7DwgLQdpmEbH5uKAWZXBE6M0fF-nPKlEBgPnwRJimqT1EjghtC54iC0B5xMmeqQ1gBEHY-fwSvFC-1Y8UdxSSVcBhFa2tXJEGmt8GL1rFHcfTVIIo/s320/ps-fan-batholemew_fair-3667a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The fan is chocker block with people, food sellers and booths. For me the fan is particularly interesting because of the large-scale peepshow depicted in the lower left had corner showing the Siege of Gibraltar. Gibraltar was under siege several times in the 18<sup>th</sup> century and this could represent the Spanish attack on the British garrison in 1727. This print is also sought after by magic collectors, for whom the primary interest is the depiction of Isaac Fawkes’ booth. Fawkes was probably the most famous conjurer of the 18<sup>th</sup> century. However Fawkes had already stopped working the Bartholomew Fair by 1721. Possibly it could be a depiction of his son, but more likely it is the elder Fawkes who was far more celebrated. Take a look. There’s a lot to see in the print.</div>
</div>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-18333926340976291082012-01-07T11:18:00.000-08:002012-01-07T11:18:06.820-08:00Pepper's Ghost<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1ar2G1ErtC_SnPYf9XzpmAPnYcnXuS7XwA68TmKUoZvZ3lCi5vpm8EMjHIxQbCR6B5XLeGvYkhAdW-JWYSHa-w92B2yCgKP2SQNYoUOm0Z6WHkqOf6l1VhgQ4Lt2oUOCELscaBZn6xeb/s1600/ghost+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1ar2G1ErtC_SnPYf9XzpmAPnYcnXuS7XwA68TmKUoZvZ3lCi5vpm8EMjHIxQbCR6B5XLeGvYkhAdW-JWYSHa-w92B2yCgKP2SQNYoUOm0Z6WHkqOf6l1VhgQ4Lt2oUOCELscaBZn6xeb/s320/ghost+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Who has not been scared and at the same time excited by a
ghost story or the unexplainable appearance of a seeming apparition. Fascination
with ghosts and the afterworld have griped audiences for centuries. Our
appetite for such titillation seems insatiable. Ghost shows are nothing new. Writers,
magicians, and lanternists have long used a popular fascination with ghosts and
apparitions for their advantage. From its earliest inception the magic lantern
has employed ghost figures to frighten and to entertain audiences. Some of the
very earliest magic lantern images in the last part of the 17<sup>th</sup>
century were of ghosts and demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Calling
forth such figures reached a new height in the late 1700s and early 1800s
largely due to two showmen and their shows. The Fantasmagorie shows,
popularized by Belgian showman Ettiene-Gaspard Robertson and the Phantasmagoria
shows of magician Paul de Philipsthal, called forth apparitions on the screen.
Their shows ingeniously employed rear projection. The lanternist was hidden
from the audience behind the screen. The images would appear in a room darkened
on the screen as from nowhere. By moving the lantern, the figure could be made
smaller or larger so ghosts would appear and then menacingly approach the audience.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Each time a new illusion is created we are freshly mesmerized
and entertained. Pepper’s Ghost sits within a long tradition of showmen taking
advantage of popular fascination with the afterlife. Pepper’s Ghost, named
after the honorary director of London’s Royal Polytechnic, John Henry Pepper,
was an elaborate theatrical illusion that gave the appearance of a ghost-like
figure not only appearing but also moving on a stage. Pepper’s Ghost was first
exhibited on Christmas Eve in 1862 during the staging of Charles Dickens’s The
Haunted House when, to great acclaim, a ghost appeared on stage next to a man
working at his desk. In a period of fifteen months 250,000 people were
entertained at the Polytechnic by this show. The popularity of the illusion was
so great that imitators were soon employing it elsewhere. Within a few years,
the ghost shows had moved out of the polytechnic and into fairgrounds across
England. The illusion is still employed today. Anyone who has taken the haunted
house ride in Disneyland and found themselves, mid-ride, seated with a ghost
have enjoyed Peppers Ghost.</div>
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What is Pepper’s Ghost? Here are three prints from my collection,
two small woodcuts and a large lithograph visually illustrating how the
illusion is created. All three show the basic idea behind the illusion: below
the stage there is a lanternist with a magic lantern (to provide a powerful
light), and costumed actor. The light against the actor is reflected in an
enormous angled mirror that the audience cannot see in the darkened theatre. The
reflection seems to appear on the stage.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pKyKzMLBkpLVe1gYgAcMESX_BGfmIaK0amTZWqBtHjynppNt2-aFm8qLlhnhV0DKXNTZHjxuz1BrrFrCnk2iuyBAPONfiC8tZXtF_PyJNnBJHxEuv4AM12YdYHCq8vKSt8hY9EftlL40/s1600/ml-print-the_magic_lantern_ghost-3453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pKyKzMLBkpLVe1gYgAcMESX_BGfmIaK0amTZWqBtHjynppNt2-aFm8qLlhnhV0DKXNTZHjxuz1BrrFrCnk2iuyBAPONfiC8tZXtF_PyJNnBJHxEuv4AM12YdYHCq8vKSt8hY9EftlL40/s320/ml-print-the_magic_lantern_ghost-3453.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrhdHMgad7P_OKd-gPZ3N2YqW2fYcJtxZ0Sz5xIP3FtrE_8fDmZLkAjdt83UPub6Iy4-gIvWS0V0N7_1rA7xvI8VdPLNukooJQhc7OZqh31LGiJKwtsIKJhYFH3uEt2mjkWcWKLQePoPG/s1600/ml-print-the_conjurers_ghost-3454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrhdHMgad7P_OKd-gPZ3N2YqW2fYcJtxZ0Sz5xIP3FtrE_8fDmZLkAjdt83UPub6Iy4-gIvWS0V0N7_1rA7xvI8VdPLNukooJQhc7OZqh31LGiJKwtsIKJhYFH3uEt2mjkWcWKLQePoPG/s320/ml-print-the_conjurers_ghost-3454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-22aptgzBRSDiomLTw6wh6Sq6DGGm2yP5B7_l_1CnWRT64plXl5oXrG0RMdZtamsGhF8NXHa3X8993iZmY-jhhrW6M4Ag-158FcDPeJ06eT0jZtSeDf9WyK7UqJavBRePbSXe6mJzcJ-/s1600/MLP-phantasmagoria-peppers+ghost.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-22aptgzBRSDiomLTw6wh6Sq6DGGm2yP5B7_l_1CnWRT64plXl5oXrG0RMdZtamsGhF8NXHa3X8993iZmY-jhhrW6M4Ag-158FcDPeJ06eT0jZtSeDf9WyK7UqJavBRePbSXe6mJzcJ-/s320/MLP-phantasmagoria-peppers+ghost.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although there are some differences in each of the prints,
all show the same basic “props”: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hidden
lantern, dressed actor, angled mirror and the ghost on the stage. Interestingly,
each of the three prints shows a different scene on stage, indicating that once
perfected the illusion was used in a number of different performances.</div>
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And what is the history of Pepper’s Ghost? John Henry Pepper
teamed up with Henry Dircks, who had a well thought out idea for projecting a
ghost onto a stage to develop and stage the illusion. Soon the pair had a falling
out, each claiming the “invention” of the Ghost show. History has attached the
name of John Henry Pepper to the illusion. </div>
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Finally here is a broadside from my collection advertising
“the real” Pepper’s Ghost Show in 1870 given by James Matthews. Matthews, who
worked at the Royal Polytechnic as a magician, proclaims his ties both with the
Royal Polytechnic and with Pepper. The broadside boldly announces the
appearance of PROFESSOR PEPPER”S MARVELOUS GHOST for two nights.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5LFka42GSpFQ13pkibUpWWgFmLGOka6REqHjYZbuMALrVC6HITgslUuP8luM5TIXZArrFdJxC35DHDxErRlWSK4rZntPhs4-_ls8KgLOl3FM_vnikAzfallGYoJXQzighNFwG7CzHOIu/s1600/ML+adv-pepper%2527s+ghost+1-3175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5LFka42GSpFQ13pkibUpWWgFmLGOka6REqHjYZbuMALrVC6HITgslUuP8luM5TIXZArrFdJxC35DHDxErRlWSK4rZntPhs4-_ls8KgLOl3FM_vnikAzfallGYoJXQzighNFwG7CzHOIu/s320/ML+adv-pepper%2527s+ghost+1-3175.jpg" width="107" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-7264194805857188452011-09-28T20:07:00.000-07:002011-09-28T20:10:44.800-07:00New page of phenakistascopes<div style="text-align: center;">
Hello everyone! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We've added a brand new page of Phenakistascopes to the collection's flash gallery! </div>
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<a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery.360.0.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsK-MwCSmhWw-SU_MIGnY1UThUHrErdTlwdwGbm6-wnE7vdf0n_3dKGURNwPTxY2clxikJtAHlKme-iev0rBhBFkFhrlAdu511zjUH67KpEgQzSf9j0gUvkGGhyUZeZu_1lRsvHdxCCMi/s320/phena23.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery.360.0.html">Click here to visit the Phenakistascope Gallery</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-59429142010884092762011-02-16T20:57:00.001-08:002011-02-17T06:29:12.737-08:00Prints<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>215</o:Words> <o:characters>1227</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>10</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1506</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently I was interviewed by Chris Lane, co-founder of the Philadelphia Print Shop, for his blog, <a href="http://antiqueprintsblog.blogspot.com/">http://antiqueprintsblog.blogspot.com</a>. If you’re interested in maps on antique prints you should visit the blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m not sure when the interview will appear but I found the questions interesting and some weren’t easy to answer. One of the difficult questions was “what were four of my favorite things”, a very tough question for many collectors. I said it was easier for me to mention twenty things, rather than four, but the more I thought about it my longest sustained interest has been in prints, paintings & drawings in which there are magic lanterns and peepshows. I have written about peepshow images in my book, Peeepshows A Visual History.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am fascinated about the frequency in which peepshows and magic lanterns appeared in prints in the 18<sup>th</sup> and 19<sup>th</sup> century. It is an indication of how popular these devices must have been. Some times they appear in a straight forward representative manner, but just as often artists employed the magic lantern or peepshow as a device to make a political or social message.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I like looking at other collections to find images that I haven’t seen before. Even after more than thirty years collecting I experience the thrill of finding an image that I don’t have and frequently one I didn’t know existed. In the next few months I plan to put more images from my collection up on my site.</p><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uQ7w6DVQyfIUwJSZzFzwMJfvjzpxjy1M4x7vx5X8ijr6eQ34Bw6ZQ74YR24p4K55KHanilEvGV7qyX-CHsbGencmcevmtMNpUPKFZOsBGEUxeobvckiK3FW8pTJVaHhQgGfqTDvc4Rnx/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518345962193666" /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>164</o:Words> <o:characters>938</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>7</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1151</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">I thought I would start with two images that I have added to my collection in the past month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first is a mezzotint from 1720 by the German artist, Georg Philipp Rugendas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On one level it shows a peepshow in a square. The more you look at the image the stranger it seems. At first I thought the showman must be the hatless man at the side of the peepshow engaged is some conversation with another gentleman. However the more I looked the more it seemed the boy with his left hand out standing near the straps which would have been used to carry the box from square to square is the showman, but he seems a lad himself, which would have been unusual for a showman. You can see there are two lads looking in the box and two who seemed to be fighting over whom shall take a view. Besides this it is difficult to figure out what the man who can be seen in the window is doing and the perspective behind the box is particularly flat. The first building and people across the river seem little more than an arm’s length away and yet there are two men perched on a rock with a looking glass as if they are looking far off in the distance.</p> <!--EndFragment--><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWOdB1EmDoDH0HuSjav6IDXk0YxYZukgTZTQt566KRghFKwgZ1Wc_m7lVUaRB-geGjkytzquykLFhWvmUrEY4MEqouQFk9zgRoPPIPub90R7uQYskZX7aRxKUk9iOrmZGeHJcTBeWAzwb/s320/DSC_0008.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518487826243106" /><p class="MsoNormal"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>195</o:Words> <o:characters>1117</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>9</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1371</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The other print, much later and more modest is a colored wood engraving and is a page from a magazine, the details of which I don’t know as yet. The image, however, is one I am very familiar with. It is of a monkey giving a magic lantern show and is entitled Le Singe qui Montre La Lanterne Magique. It is one of the many fables published by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian first at the end of the 18<sup>th</sup> century as Florian Fables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The fables were over more than 140 years printed and reprinted The print illustrates the story of the monkey giving a magic lantern show. It seems the monkey was the pet, and probably the companion of the lanternist (showmen often employed pets like monkeys to drum up business when they announced their shows). While the lanternist is away the monkey decides to entertain the other animals on the farm with a lantern show. All the animals gather and he gives a show presenting the stories just as he has heard the showman do. Usually the image shows the animals in rapt attention. The story ends with the recognition that the monkey never lights the lantern, so there are no slides being projected. There are many versions of this story, each artist interpreting the fable somewhat differently. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">So if you would like to see some new materials I have just added some more peepshow prints and Florian Fable images on my site.</p> <!--EndFragment--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <!--EndFragment--></div></div>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-39641815046056284592010-11-18T21:06:00.000-08:002010-11-18T21:16:31.936-08:00A Visit to Turin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJp0ltaUCOSA7wyzULw1ACs4e0yM11L0IUYVsYESRWJqxQdrHiY-qG3we7t4WGoEJ0fJN0psD4BvcRvwsLZeKsmTeuTCEuBjjw2TvG27FgWHaytaXlqIMLq8-M7yU2yc82FUmCSVKx7BK/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJp0ltaUCOSA7wyzULw1ACs4e0yM11L0IUYVsYESRWJqxQdrHiY-qG3we7t4WGoEJ0fJN0psD4BvcRvwsLZeKsmTeuTCEuBjjw2TvG27FgWHaytaXlqIMLq8-M7yU2yc82FUmCSVKx7BK/s200/photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541125084542347746" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The spire of Turin’s Mole Antonelliana reaches high into the sky, dwarfing all the low-rise buildings in the area. This beautiful nineteenth century building, long the highest masonry structure in Europ</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:100%;" >e,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> is the home of Italy’s National Cinema Museum. This incredible space, with five floors of movie memorabilia, is</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">creatively used to display a fabulous collection boasting 7,000 films, 150,000 posters, 140,000 photographic documents, and a stunning pre-cinema collection. There are some of the most beautiful 18<sup>th</sup> century peepshows in the world on display. This tour was only the beginning of a weekend meeting of the Magic Lantern Society of Great Britain hosted by the Museum. If there were not enough material to overwhelm one at The Mole, on Sunday morning we were bused out of town to the Royal Palace of Venaria, a former royal residence, for an expanded version of the magic lantern exhibition held earlier in the year at the </span><span lang="FR" style="font-size:100%;">Cinematheque</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Francaise in Paris.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">These two exhibitions would be more than enough for anyone interested in pre-cinema material. Still, for me the highlight of the weekend was a show Saturday night at the planetarium, located on a hillside on the outskirts of Turin. We were ushered into the domed viewing hall and when the lights went off Donata Presenti cast scenes from the night time sky on the domed walls of</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">the planetarium with the assistance of a nineteenth century triunial magic lantern and astronomical slides from the Cinema Museum’s collection. We were treated to the movement of planets, the phases of the moon, comets, and constellations. The quality of the slides, the expert manipulation of the triunial and the accompanying music made it a memorable moment. It was followed by a planetarium show, the beauty and power of which caught me by surprise. Using computer graphics, a marvelous digital show filled the room.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I felt transported from my seat into the sky after rotating planets hurled in our direction and before I knew it, I felt engulfed by a glorious galaxy close upon us. It was nothing short of spectacular. All these visual fireworks were followed by a lecture, but that was like trying to have a solid main course after tasting a delightful dessert.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were also a several talks during the weekend. I presented a talk about two nineteenth century philosophical toys: thaumatropes and phenakistascopes. These toys were meant both to educate and to amuse. I used some new animations for the show and have uploaded them onto my site.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Enjoy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">PS: If you should find yourself in Turin and have more time after visiting the Mole the place to go is the Egyptian Museum. The collection, founded in 1824, is quite a treat. My favorites rooms were in the basement and contain an extraordinary collection of statues. If that doesn't tire you out, go to the top floor which houses a large collection of 15-17th. century art, and see if you can find the breathtaking Rembrandt of a lone seated figure hidden in the shadows. </p><p face="times new roman" class="MsoNormal"> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> </p>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-72678823080568114332010-09-06T06:28:00.000-07:002010-09-06T06:38:37.377-07:00Site Update!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIRaXzZG_Kp2tpbx_8Sw2Bj93nopYtYvTnR_i2uo6DZjHFWRkgwcTjtYqXkGUwrTpb_hVt6p1M1v-VsW2M96r325CW9CEgHuVkGya0MFhbsL_r-1Rs2rTMNDjDGAhjyga56isMUQJ7_3n/s1600/turns4NEW.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIRaXzZG_Kp2tpbx_8Sw2Bj93nopYtYvTnR_i2uo6DZjHFWRkgwcTjtYqXkGUwrTpb_hVt6p1M1v-VsW2M96r325CW9CEgHuVkGya0MFhbsL_r-1Rs2rTMNDjDGAhjyga56isMUQJ7_3n/s200/turns4NEW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513794438866232914" border="0" /></a><br />Hello, everyone!<br /><br />Today, we're premiering the latest flash gallery, this one for turning head illustrations.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery.365.0.html">Click here to view the turning heads flash gallery!</a><br /><br /><br />There are also many new items to see in the Magic Lanterns section:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Professional_Lanterns.251.0.html?&L=0">Professional Lanterns</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Figurines.248.0.html">Figurines</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Prints.250.0.html?&L=0">Prints</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Programs_Adverts.271.0.html">Programs & Adverts</a><br /><br />Enjoy!Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-32415609541446332022010-06-29T01:29:00.000-07:002010-06-29T01:34:19.317-07:00Magic Lantern Convention<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:medium;"><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">On May 20-23 the Magic Lantern Society of the United States and Canada held its bi-annual convention in Bloomington at Indiana University. The theme for the convention was the magic lantern and Victorian culture. It was a wonderful meeting full of shows and discussions. The first day began with one of the most intriguing discussions: digitization of lantern material. For some, digitization is primarily a way to share material held in private and public collections in an increasingly web-based society. Digitization will allow for the online study of primary material. It also provides showmen and artists the opportunity to use material to either recreate Victorian entertainment or to adapt material to new forms of visual entertainment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">The papers ranged from a discussion of the use of the magic lantern by missionaries to trying to track the location (and current use) of a series of nineteenth century English pubs illustrated with lantern slides. We learned about the work of two American showmen who toured the country with panoramas and the career of late 19<sup>th</sup> century lanternist, George Reed Cromwell, billed by the presenter as, “America’s most famous forgotten Magic Lantern lecturer”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">There were practical talks like what is required to put on a lantern show, and new links established, for example, between the magic lantern and moveable books. There was a terrific exhibit of lantern material at the Lilly Library. There were also a number of lantern shows. For me the highlight of the gathering was a rollicking variety show staged in one of downtown Bloomington’s theatres. More than 500 people attended, and were treated to a series of eight eight-minute shows.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">There was singing, the reenactment of the Serpetine Dance with lantern light effects, slides from America’s most famous lantern artist, Joseph Boggs Beale, a showing of La Lanterne Magique, an early movie by Georges Melies , and temperance slides warning of the evils of drink. It was a delightful way to introduce people to different forms of Victorian visual entertainment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">The event made me think I should again put the link to The Magic Lantern Society for those who might be curious, to learn more and possibly join the society:</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.magiclanternsociety.org/" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr>magiclanternsociety.org/</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">I also thought it would be a good time to put some more of my magic lantern material on my site. I am going to upload in the flash galleries some examples of dissolving slides- a technique first introduced in 1839 by Henry Langdon Childe at the Royal Polytechnic in London and used by lanternists for the rest of the century. Dissolves (fades) would be a technique later employed by filmmakers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Cambria;font-size:100%;">I am also going to put up a selection of additional slides used in the lantern. I hope you will enjoy them.</span> </p></span>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-50771139659454024622010-04-27T13:09:00.000-07:002010-04-27T13:23:27.825-07:00Zoetropes<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/typo3temp/pics/c2e6d7fc0a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 250px;" src="http://www.dickbalzer.com/typo3temp/pics/c2e6d7fc0a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Cambria, serif;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Zoetrope is for many the most recognizable optical toy of the 19th century. It is one of the easiest toys to demonstrate to others how persistence of vision works. All you need to do is look through one of the many vertical slits and spin the drum and then, all of a sudden, a succession of static pictures appears to be a band of continuous movement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This week I am adding a flash gallery of six zoetrope strips, and six bottom discs.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery_Strips.366.0.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">click here to view the Zoetrope strips</span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery_Bottoms.380.0.html">click here to view the Zoetrope bottom discs</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div>Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-72792501991185307952010-02-06T14:24:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:36:02.849-08:00Peepshows<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>149</o:Words> <o:characters>853</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>7</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1047</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">What did people see in peepshows?<span style=""> </span>The variety of images was substantial, but mostly what one could see were scenes of great cities, battle scenes or far off lands. Most views employed some element of perspective drawing, the most typical being the use of a vanishing point, to create a more 3d feeling to the flat image. Large numbers of these images, often based on famous paintings or prints, were turned out in England, France and Italy. The large majority of views were daytime views, the prints mounted on stiff cardboard. However, there were a group of prints which had some transparent elements, often pieces of the print were cut out or pin pricks were made, and colored paper was used as backing creating day/night views and allowing the showman more range in what was shown. Now with such views not only could a day-time image be shown, but when lit from behind, night time effects, often with stars coming out, or lights in windows could be made.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FcEkXN3oIRJK96vq-ihYBh76wKYKmgV5Z0KzCUE88ymIIGA1_1lEBeDYO8XcnLlRAQxdIpLoX1ozFWXCw3lQPauRkCA8y0wsWgCH2LDplNWk38l6FFiRtAZggsln_YW95GTVJZe8JqbJ/s720/7519e771a0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FcEkXN3oIRJK96vq-ihYBh76wKYKmgV5Z0KzCUE88ymIIGA1_1lEBeDYO8XcnLlRAQxdIpLoX1ozFWXCw3lQPauRkCA8y0wsWgCH2LDplNWk38l6FFiRtAZggsln_YW95GTVJZe8JqbJ/s720/7519e771a0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsQb-vhoaXkUjITBAIEQdliNi2YM19FPv0eX81RrK12jRv099A9b9QvbNNTfJD13H5mLwg96FhzLaPV71ZAlLb7pxq44f3U_QHqQeZD9Iw0m7FnLiE2PABvY32xs3eJhkcHrmBOziahoR/s720/e4eff24b66.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsQb-vhoaXkUjITBAIEQdliNi2YM19FPv0eX81RrK12jRv099A9b9QvbNNTfJD13H5mLwg96FhzLaPV71ZAlLb7pxq44f3U_QHqQeZD9Iw0m7FnLiE2PABvY32xs3eJhkcHrmBOziahoR/s720/e4eff24b66.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have just added a page to the web site featuring 60 remarkable day/night views</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Vue_d_optiques.363.0.html">Click here to see the Peepshow view collection<br /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.dickbalzer.com/Flash_Gallery.364.0.html">Click here for a flash gallery of several views</a><br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-4475056968164508282010-02-05T14:22:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:32:47.772-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>298</o:Words> <o:characters>1704</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>14</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>3</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>2092</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; 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mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1577419844 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Many people have asked me how I began collecting. The answer is easy: without intention. I used to be a professional photographer and I was living in England when a friend dragged me to a small country auction. <span style=""> </span>I looked around and was attracted to a beautiful wooden object. I thought it was a camera but it was a magic lantern and not only was the lantern for sale but there were about 100 glass slides from about 1880 of daily life in China and for fifty pounds they became mine. Nothing much would have happened if I hadn’t been invited to see a magic lantern show a month later. I thought I might see some more photographic slides but no what I saw left me open-mouthed full of wonder and amazement. What flashed on the screen was an array of moving hand-painted glass slides, wondrous dissolving images, kaleidoscopic effects and an incredible visit to an imaginary circus. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now I was hooked. It was only a matter of time, exploration and learning and a collection began to form and, as is the case with many collectors I know, the interest keeps expanding and my little collection of magic lanterns spread to include optical toys. I can still feel the thrill of finding new items, of learning something I didn’t know before.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I created a site for two reasons. One was selfish. I had never gotten to catalogue my collection and the web site allowed me to do that. The main reason however was to share the material. The Internet has made many things possible. Long before setting up my site, I used to visit the Hermitage online. I thought maybe some people would be interested in the things I have collected and why not share it? I have added animation because many of the toys were animated and the ability to experience the animation adds to the enjoyment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I hope to use this blog for several purposes:</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">1.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->To let interested people know when I have updated the site or added new features</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">2.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->To share information about events, books or other matters pertaining to the collection</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">3. I would also be glad to share information about other sites collectors or animators </p> <!--EndFragment-->Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-67228861065922419122010-01-27T14:08:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:12:25.226-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>241</o:Words> <o:characters>1376</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>11</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1689</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">Last part of the journey includes a fast train (Europe has fast trains that make you mad that stimulus money isn’t being spent to really upgrade the trains in America).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I arrive in Stuttgart to be met by my friend, and web site designer, Georg Fuesslin. We spend a couple of days looking at his collection, and going to two book fairs. Lots to see, much of it ridiculously overpriced, but luckily a couple of finds. One find was a 1881 print of Peppers Ghost (a ghost projection used by magicians and lantern showman based first demonstrated by Professor Henry Pepper at London’s Royal Polytechnic.)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa_9PoKpK2mKL-O6GXDrK7tdUbDCZkWeNwtj6a3YyhjqVxJJxLhxlfeEK4V5PvGpXALZUxoCz778uHGSEsmbYgttg694yz4-hyHbEJplkITjdI2I7DdHUTykzAQHmSB1GgKeDWVfVCupG/s640/MLP-phantasmagoria-peppers%20ghost.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa_9PoKpK2mKL-O6GXDrK7tdUbDCZkWeNwtj6a3YyhjqVxJJxLhxlfeEK4V5PvGpXALZUxoCz778uHGSEsmbYgttg694yz4-hyHbEJplkITjdI2I7DdHUTykzAQHmSB1GgKeDWVfVCupG/s640/MLP-phantasmagoria-peppers%20ghost.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">More important than what I found is what I overlooked. Collectors are anxious to rush around fairs trying to find something, something either special or underpriced, or best both. When you walk a fair with another collector you need to have an understanding in case you both see an item. For me it has always been who ever sees it first gets first chance at it. The night before the fair Georg and I talked about a lot of things and one of them was a rare print from 1720 of a dwarf with a peepshow on his back. I have been looking for the print for twenty years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The fair opened and there was a mad dash by the throng of people to get started. I didn’t want to lose Georg but I was ahead of him and paused at the first table scanning the room. He came up behind me, and said looking over my shoulder, did you see that pile, pointing to a pile of dwarf prints in front of me. And yes, buried in that pile was the very print I have been looking for, and now that the print belongs to Georg, I will have to keep looking .</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Oh well, still quite a week.</p> <!--EndFragment-->Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-37223229767172129892010-01-24T13:58:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:08:00.678-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>221</o:Words> <o:characters>1264</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>10</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1552</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Off to Paris. Main event is a visit to the <a href="http://www.cinematheque.fr/">Cinémathèque française</a> and a meeting with its director of the collection, Laurent Mannoni. Mannoni is a prolific writer and although he now sees one of his earliest efforts, the book , <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Art-Light-Shadow-Archaeology/dp/085989665X/">The Great Art of Light and Shadow</a> as “containing some mistakes”, it is an excellent book for anyone interested in the history of pre-cinema.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mannoni surprises me after a lovely lunch by inviting me back to see his office. His office is a series of desks in the midst of the storerooms that contain much of the Cinematheque’s collection that is not currently exhibited. He asks whether I would like to look around. Would I? Yes, but I have no time, other meetings. Still, he is kind enough to say we can organize a longer visit some other time. I rearrange some things for the following day and ask if I could spend a couple of hours taking a look. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And it is a great two hours I spend, looking at some of the remarkable material they have. Mannoni seems surprised by how excited I am, saying all this material is contained in their catalogue. It is, but it is different to see an image of the material and to hold the material. Yet again l am reminded of the limitations of my website. It is one reason I keep adding animation. If you can’t touch the material at least you can experience the power of the animation moment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">One day of wandering around the Marais, the Luxembourg Gardens and visiting dealers and book stores. Not much to find but I did pick up one nice little print.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5nTgEw2nOQD1CfhD58sNmZBpO803rWkDL2PLtGSkEF9ph0OcHntZPQO4yl4KDAIV-E58yPhK1qPR61bdyB8CPDi8M2VqGQDJWPCI2mOCCIY3HbN1j1_K4wt-6nPfMw_G17mNShnViEbf/s640/MLP-pig%20on%20the%20screen.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 393px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5nTgEw2nOQD1CfhD58sNmZBpO803rWkDL2PLtGSkEF9ph0OcHntZPQO4yl4KDAIV-E58yPhK1qPR61bdyB8CPDi8M2VqGQDJWPCI2mOCCIY3HbN1j1_K4wt-6nPfMw_G17mNShnViEbf/s640/MLP-pig%20on%20the%20screen.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2185588064593396948.post-68024762575042795652010-01-23T13:34:00.000-08:002010-02-16T13:57:43.273-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>252</o:Words> <o:characters>1437</o:Characters> <o:company>MassArt</o:Company> <o:lines>11</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1764</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Just landed at Heathrow. Like old times. Grey cold skies, threatening rain but all is well. It’s a long way in to central London from Heathrow, even longer from terminal 5. I’m on my way to the AGM of the Magic Lantern Society of Great Britain. The meeting is held in a building tucked away in a small side street near Euston Station. We are meeting in the headquarters of the Magic Circle, the magician’s society of Great Britain. It is a wonderful building. There are magic posters running up and down the stairs. Our meeting is held mostly in the auditorium.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have known many of the people in attendance for thirty years and they share my passion for collecting magic lanterns. The highlight of the day was a talk on Etienne Robertson and his Phantasmagoria show. Robertson was a great showman<span style=""> </span>who not only projected images, but also employed a bag full of magic tricks to create the atmosphere of<span style=""> </span>anxiety<span style=""> </span>and fear which heightened the show’s power. <span style=""> </span>After the talk we were treated to the projection of a number of phantasmagoria slides. <span style=""> </span>If you <span style=""> </span>want to learn more about Roberstson and the phantasmagoria you can read Mervyn Heard’s excellent book, <u>Phantasmagoria: The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern</u> <span style=""> </span>or you can visit <span style=""> </span>the web site Early Visual Media <a href="http://www.visual-media.be/">http://www.visual-media.be</a><span style=""> </span>and see some original phantasmagoria material.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Another treat of the meeting were the sales/trade tables. One of the nice things I came away with was this Japanese illustration of two peepshows.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">click thumbnail to see the whole piece</span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0mx-GLymvW05mSuunn3VcTs8G31u8_SfuxZXoYUYMvuu8DLIKxPCLVlDnGIEN1fW3D0s_fF7wnQQlEcM0nHE6buayePGg6lepOj_EdWpOlUfT4IGD7OmHStoUetKBEAAaNkv92xkLhNm/s640/PSP-Japanese%202%20peepshows%201.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNO3-Hsrc-7uUy1RfG7dW-SbdOGHSQ7JWav2gRRkTI4yIiAdclY6X3YG9DBYQpjkGrN41piv2Myj5GMt86QIuQfisSMF0-BvW0SjYHq0Qy3SNYAkYnjrQvdHTcQ4gmnrHPg6Ez2n2aTdzG/s400/PSP-Japanese%202%20peepshows%202.JPG" /></a><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We also got to see some friends and go to a great jazz club, Club 606. Tucked away in the basement on Lots Road (near the Chelsea Harbour Hotel), this club offers wonderful music and decent food.</p> <!--EndFragment-->Brian Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16628531132864865856noreply@blogger.com0