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The Phantasmagoria originated in the late 18th century in a departure from the magic lantern show of the time:
The clear glass background of the slides were painted black, obscuring nature of the image as that produced from a magic lantern. The lantern was placed behind a rear projection screen, hiding the apparatus of the projector from the audience. The fantascope (as the projector was called) was on a wheeled cart on tracks that could be moved away from the screen, giving the illusion of the projected figures starting out small and distant but growing larger and larger as they grew closer. A rackwork focusing mechanism was operated by the lanternist to keep the image in focus as it was moved away.
The presentation was a true multimedia event: In addition to the rear-projected magic lantern slides, there might also be projections on smoke; opaque projections of objects using reflected light; projections of actors using a megascope projector; shadowplay silhouettes using multiple light sources known as the Dance of the Witches; actors carrying rear-illuminated translucent papier-mâché heads; sound effects including wind and thunder; and eerie music performed on the glass 'armonica (the tuned-glass instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin).
The repertoire of the phantasmagoria was appropriately macabre, with scenarios taken from the novel The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis and other gothic and ghostly sources.
The principal exhibitions that created this model took place in Paris at the end of the 18th century:
In 1792 a magic lantern show known as the Phantasmagoria was presented by Paul Philidor in Paris. This included the conjuring of ghosts based partly upon audience requests to see a historic figure or a departed loved-one. For the latter, Philidor requested a description or a portrait be provided in advance, suggesting that lantern slides were painted just ahead of the show to resemble the desired ghost in question.
The scientist, showman, and pioneering balloonist Etienne-Gaspard Robertson created his Fantasmagorie in 1798. His show seems to have been inspired by Philidor’s, although Robertson never acknowledged this. His memoir provides many details on the reception and techniques of the phantasmagoria. To set the mood for the show, he exhibited a series of curiosities before the show proper, including the animation of amputated frog’s legs by means of electricity. He moved the location of his phantasmagoria to a vacant convent, to further put the audience into the frame of mind to expect ghosts to appear. His presentation included dramatic scenarios as well as ghost-conjuring, including The Bleeding Nun, The Death of Lord Littleton, The Witch of Endor, and Edward Young Burying his Daughter.
Robertson patented the fantascope, and was involved in a court case against his former assistant-turned-rival who began showing a very similar exhibition called the Fantasmaparastasie.
In 1801 Paul de Philipsthal began presenting a Phantasmagoria in London. It is generally assumed that Paul de Philipsthal was Paul Philidor. He toured the UK presentation his Phantasmagoria together with an exhibition of waxworks by Madame Tussaud.
Elliott and Schlemowitz’s Phantasmagoria
Elliott and Schlemowitz’s Phantasmagoria
Very few surviving slides exist from the original phantasmagoria presentations. The phantasmagoria of Elliott and Schlemowitz uses re-created magic lantern slides, made in the manner of the originals, using india ink and paint on glass.
A recreated fantascope, using a rackwork focusing system and wooden track to move the lantern to and from the screen, was built based upon examples from the early 19th century.
Puppets used for opaque projection are based upon a surviving example from the workshop of the Paris optician and magic lantern maker Molteni, who supplied Robertson with some of his equipment.
Music has been arranged from pieces appropriate to the late 18th century setting, including Mozart’s adagio for glass harmonica and Handel’s Dead March from the oratorio Saul. Stage machinery used to create the sound of wind, based upon Robertson’s illustration from his memoir, and other theaterical sound effect devices, were also fabricated for the show.
While Robertson’s scripts do not survive, the scenarios deriving from other works of literature, such as Matthew Gregory Lewis’s 1796 novel, The Monk, or Edward Young’s Night Thoughts, have been adapted from these primary sources.
Elliott and Schlemowitz's Phantasmagoria has received the Dick Balzer Award from the Magic Lantern Society UK in 2020.
Presentation options
Presentation options
Elliott and Schlemowitz’s Phantasmagoria can be presented as an outdoor event, with a rear projection screen, to accommodate social distancing and other COVID-19 precautions.
The full-scale presentation of Elliott and Schlemowitz’s Phantasmagoria begins with a magic lantern show and concludes with a demonstration of the equipment and techniques employed in the phantasmagoria. It uses a rear projection screen and performers providing live music and sound effects. The running time is 60 minutes, although this can be adjusted, as needed, including a longer version with a more extensive lecture on the history of the phantasmagoria.
A smaller-scale presentation can be done using front projection, and does not include live music or the megascope projector.
Hand-painted magic lantern slides created by Joel Schlemowitz for Elliott and Schlemowitz's Phantasmagoria, based upon phantasmagoria images of the late 18th and early 19th century.
Elliott and Schlemowitz's fantascope projector, with wooden track.
The Dick Balzer Award 2020.
Fantascope rear screen setup
Fantascope rear screen setup
About 15 feet of space is needed behind the screen to accommodate the projection equipment as detailed the diagram below.
The fantascope track is 10 feet long, but a segmented version is available to accommodate more particular space requirements.
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