While historians disagree about who invented the magic lantern, an Italian, Giovanni de Fontana, first described it. The instrument was improved to the point where one could travel with the projector and numerous itinerant projectionists held ‘shows’ that could draw an audience willing to pay. As technology improved the magic lantern could project a series of images that would dissolve one over the other creating an illusion of movement; it became possible to create a narrative and some of the first short films were hence created.

In 1912, the first popular film to be shown in England, it was a story of a battle between a British warship and a French one. A narrator told the audience how it happened even as the pictures were projected, ending on an image of the French ship in flames. With the advent of photography and the easy availability of magic lanterns people began to have shows at home of their travels, celebrities and actors doing allegories. The popularity of the magic lantern ended with the invention of cinematography at the end of the 19th century. However, it’s still a collectors’ item that may fetch a handsome price at an auction.