Andrew Gill, a victorian optical entertainer, showed us
his show called the ‘Magic Lantern’ and vast collection of victorian visual equipment. We leant the part of the 40,000 year history and knowledge about how photography started and the evolving use of images. Things such as cave art, shadow shows, perspective views with the
Another thing that was shown was the peepshow, which started
around the 1790’s. It was a travelling entertainer where people could see images with a 3D view in a
box. Crystal Place in London held ‘The Great Exhibition’ in 1851, they created a sovernier that showed a 3D perspective of the
exhibition (seen below).
Transformation views (light dependant), came
in around the 1830’s, becoming the new way of entertaining. They put lights behind the
image and if they turned the lights on it showed another view of the image. An example of this was the also the use of a Jacobs Ladder Toy.
Panoramas, used by Albert Smith showed the ascent of Mont Blanc with the panorama moving down on the rollers as people climb
the Mont Blanc, connected merchandising with his shows.
After learning about all the different devices, we were allowed to try them out and use them. Everything was so interesting, and things I've only ever seen pictures of, so this was a great opportunity to try these things out. It showed the great advances in technology, and how quickly imagery evolved.
There was increase in Moving pictures with a mutoscope or flip book, and a Kinora, which was used in the home to show holiday snaps. People were finding it more accessible to show there images, and all these devices show how this was done. I very much enjoyed the talk, and learning about the history of photography. I appreciated the opportunity to try these things out, and see them for myself.