Magic Lantern, Panorama and Moving Picture Shows in Ireland, 1786-1909

Magic Lantern, Panorama and Moving Picture Shows in Ireland, 1786-1909 is the first volume in a two-volume set on the history of cinema in Ireland from the eighteenth century to the present day. Film Exhibition and Distribution in Ireland, 1909-2010 will be published at the same time. What this book demonstrates is that prior to cinema there were already huge numbers of people in Ireland, from all classes, regularly enjoying proto-cinematic experiences through such entertainments as the magic lantern, or slide projector; the immersive large-scale paintings known as panoramas; and tableaux vivants, or theatrical-posed static representations of paintings, statues and events. Without these entertainments, many developed by Irish inventors and pioneers, not only would cinema’s moving-pictures have been unimaginable, but so, too, would the cinema space itself and the distribution of film. Ultimately, this book is offered as a contribution towards a deeper understanding of popular visual culture (and its intersection with science) in Ireland from the eighteenth-century onwards.