What is it about?
The article demonstrates the merger of two of the most popular forms of entertainment the circus and the magic lantern during the later half of the 19th century. It show how the magic lantern was both a form of entertainment as well as a means of capturing images of historical significance.
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Photo by Eric Tompkins on Unsplash
Why is it important?
While these lantern slides from the late 1850's -1860's where primarily meant for entertainment. they provide historically significant images of actual circus performers and acts from that period. The slides shown are a rare grouping of circus images not otherwise available from other sources. . It provides a unique and exciting historical view of the early circus acts and the acrobats from the famous circuses in both Great Britain and France that for decades have influenced performances around the world. This article presents not only the visual imagery of these slides, and includes relevant researched notations identifying the performances and performers.
Perspectives
It is hoped that this article will stimulate others fir further research into the circus history behind these images, including further identification regarding these acts.
Richard Moore
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Lapierre circus magic lantern slides, Early Popular Visual Culture, July 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/17460654.2019.1569855.
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