[Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.] – Antique Print
![[Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.], [no date recorded on caption card] — antique engraving](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/9b/9b7fb98aa4b9-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: [Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.], preserved in this antique engraving. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
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[Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.]
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Here an operator works a magic lantern to produce a ghostly figure, the kind of optical trick that the record groups under magic and the supernatural. The caption card gives no date, only the 18th century as an approximate period, and the details come from old, unverified records, so that dating is worth treating with some caution. Late in the century, traveling showmen such as Étienne-Gaspard Robert, known as Robertson, staged phantasmagoria shows in which projected figures seemed to float through smoke or across screens. Its place in the Houdini Collection reflects later magicians' interest in documenting and explaining such effects.
| Created / published | [no date recorded on caption card] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : engraving. |
| Subjects | Illus. in: Houdini Collection. Reference copy may be in SSF (Gr) - Magicians and Magic. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Motion pictures--Misc.; Supernatural; Magicians...; RBD; Ghosts; Magic; Shelf. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 959 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-141738 |
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