A discussion of some of history's famous practitioners of magic.

This book is the first volume in a two-volume set on the history of cinema in Ireland from the 18th century to the present day (the second companion volume is titled Film Exhibition and Distribution in Ireland, 1909-2010). What the book demonstrates is that prior to cinema there were already huge numbers of people in Ireland, from all classes, who regularly enjoyed 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, the book is offered as a contribution towards a deeper understanding of popular visual culture (and its intersection with science) in Ireland from the 18th-century onwards. *** "Kevin Rockett and Emer Rockett's book is a richly researched, engaging...picture of visual and optical entertainments in Ireland, ranging from the first phantasmagoria shows in the 1790s to the establishment of the first purpose-built cinemas....The authors build on recent work influenced by the idea that the site of an exhibition helped determine not only how it took place, but the meanings it produced and the experience of its audience." - Victorian Studies, Vol. 56, No. 1, Autumn 2014Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

Tracing the cultural, material, and discursive history of an early manifestation of media culture in the making. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, huge circular panoramas presented their audiences with resplendent representations that ranged from historic battles to exotic locations. Such panoramas were immersive but static. There were other panoramas that moved—hundreds, and probably thousands of them. Their history has been largely forgotten. In Illusions in Motion, Erkki Huhtamo excavates this neglected early manifestation of media culture in the making. The moving panorama was a long painting that unscrolled behind a “window” by means of a mechanical cranking system, accompanied by a lecture, music, and sometimes sound and light effects. Showmen exhibited such panoramas in venues that ranged from opera houses to church halls, creating a market for mediated realities in both city and country. In the first history of this phenomenon, Huhtamo analyzes the moving panorama in all its complexity, investigating its relationship to other media and its role in the culture of its time. In his telling, the panorama becomes a window for observing media in operation. Huhtamo explores such topics as cultural forms that anticipated the moving panorama; theatrical panoramas; the diorama; the "panoramania" of the 1850s and the career of Albert Smith, the most successful showman of that era; competition with magic lantern shows; the final flowering of the panorama in the late nineteenth century; and the panorama's afterlife as a topos, traced through its evocation in literature, journalism, science, philosophy, and propaganda.

Most profusely illustrated history of stage magic -- from ancient Egypt to Houdini. Rare photographs, woodcuts, broadsides, advertisements, illustrations of costumes, stage settings, apparatus, etc. 295 illustrations.

"This book also includes biographies of key personalities, from Charlemagne to Wycliffe, timelines, maps, glossary, gazetteer, and bibliography."--BOOK JACKET.

All the creatures of the forest gather round in awe as the young Queen of the Fairies surveys her realm, dressed in the finest gossamer threads, with a crown of flowers and her magical wand. Jean and Ron Henry's charming painting comes alive with this incredible pop-up scene, including intriguing flaps hiding more delights and tabs for interactive play.

It's Barbie sticker fun time! Based on the latest direct-to-video "Barbie Fairytopia" movie, the new title in this best-selling series comes alive. Girls can follow Elina as she learns the Flight of Spring to save Fairytopia, and then create their own version of the story with reusable stickers and a two-sided playboard - sure to inspire hours of creative play! + 16-page full color storybook / over 20 reusable paper stickers to create multiple scenes + A double-sided vivid panoramic backdrop for sticker play that folds out from back cover + Interactive - kids place their stickers on the sticker board to recreate the story in the storybook.

Outside Lies Magic is a book about the acute observation of ordinary things, about becoming aware in everyday places, about seeing in utterly new ways, about enriching your life unexpectedly. For more than 20 years, John R. Stilgoe has developed and practiced the art of exploring the everyday world around us, where so much lies hidden just beneath the surface, offering uncommon knowledge if we but know what to look for. In this remarkable book, Stilgoe inspires us to become explorers on our own-on foot or on bicycle-and by so doing to reap the benefits of escaping, even temporarily, the traps of our programmed lives. "Exploration encourages creativity, serendipity, invention," he writes. And while sharing his insights on how to explore, Stilgoe provides a fascinating pocket history of the American landscape, as striking in its originality as it is revealing. Stilgoe dissects our visual surroundings; his observations will transform the way you see everything. Through his eyes, an abandoned railroad line is redolent of history and future promise; front lawns recall our agrarian past; vacant lots hold cathedrals of potential. From the electrical grid overhead to fences, malls, and main streets, Stilgoe offers a fresh understanding of the links and fractures in our society. After reading Outside Lies Magic, your world will never look the same again.