Megalethoscope Slide, "Rome, Square of the Forum"
01
Artifact Overview
Invented by Carlo Ponti in the early 1860s, a megalethoscope is a device used to view a translucent, multilayered photograph. By opening or closing various panels, a person saw the image change. When lit from behind, pinpricks and paint or colored tissue applied to the back or a secondary layer of the photograph transform the scene to reveal hidden images and create an illusion of nighttime.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Slide (Photograph)
Subject Date
1860-1865
Creators
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
32.742.113.2.14
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Wood (Plant material)
Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)
Paint (Coating)
Color
Black (Color)
White (Color)
Dimensions
Height: 12.25 in
Width: 17.5 in
Length: 1.5 in
Inscriptions
on label on back:
Piazza del Toro a Roma. Tempio di saturno. Basilica Giulia, Tempio di Giove. / [...] Rome, Square of the Forum. temple of saturn (8) basilica Julia Temple of Jupiter [...]
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