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Coin-operated Viewers were the product of three technological "miracles" of the 19th century. Images of people and their world were captured by machine for the first time (photography); they were given the illusion of depth (stereoscopy) and, finally, the illusion of movement (cinematography). Coin-freed motion picture devices and 3D viewers first appeared around the late 1880s, but Edison and Dickson's Kinetoscope (1892) enjoyed only a brief vogue on account of its fragile, volatile film stock. Herman Cassler's Mutoscope (1895) with its robust flick-book design was better suited to the rigours of public life and proved much more enduring. Early machines showed novel views from exotic, far-away places and were usually edifying or educational. Soon however, pandering to (though rarely fulfilling) more basic appetites, they caught the eye of the censors. |  |
Drop a penny in the slot and the oil filled timer lights 2 bulbs for a set amount of time so you can view the live ants inside. It seems to be a bit of a prank from Mr Bryan to tease the punters into seeing a live peep show. |
Metal cased clockwork stereoscope showing 12 different views. |
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