[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/halloween/img/9b/9b7fb98aa4b9-L.webp)
(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. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
[Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.]
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal
Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.
Pictorial America: Halloween
by James Lantos · Applewood Books · on sale now
Buy Pictorial America Halloween on Amazon
Hollywood Halloween Horrors
The Halloween Library, Volume I · by Edward Moran and James Lantos · Globe Pequot
Coming soonThe book is not out yet. Leave your email below and we will tell you when it is.
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. |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 959 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 3b15251_Producingghostlyillusionbyuseo |
More from the Ghosts, Magic & Spirit Shows collection
The Halloween Library gathers the pictures behind the holiday: vintage cards, Library of Congress prints and the illustrations from the Hollywood Halloween Horrors book, with the history behind each one.
![[Heathcliff haunted by faces; illus for Wuthering Heights]](https://images.jameslantos.com/halloween/img/15/154a49635aa4-400.webp)
