The exhibition of Messrs. Dircks and Pepper, patented in 1863, gave celebrity and popularity to the subject, being shown at the Polytechnic institution, London. The main purpose, as described in the specification, is, " to associate on the same stage living persons and phantoms to act together." There is a stage like that of a theater; and an under-stage at a level 6 ft. or so lower, between it and the spectators. The stage can be seen by all the persons in the hall or theater; but the under-stage (though nearer) is so managed, by means of screens, dimness of light, and dark baize lining, that its existence is scarcely even suspected by most of'the spectators. There is a large plate of unsilvered glass, nearly upright, between the under-stage and the stage, so art fully framed and adjusted as to be invisible, and allowi,ng persons on the stage to be seen almost as clearly as if there were no glass there. An actor, whom we will call the hidden actor, is on the under-stage, entirely below the level of the real stage, and out of sight of the spectators. A strong light is thrown upon his face and figure, and is reflected from the front of the glass towards the spectators, who can thus see the reflected image, but not the hidden actor who produces it. For brevity's sake, we will call this reflected image the phantom. In order that the reflected light may come in a proper direction to the spectators, the glass is placed either upright or slightly leaning forward at the top, according to the height at which the seats of the spectators are placed. If the light is very strong on the hidden actor,"and rather faint on the glass, the phantom appears with wonderful force and vividness. By means of a trap-door closing over the under-stage, the phantom may be made to disappear instantly; or, by varying the intensity of the light, the phantom may seem to dissolve gradually. If the under-stage is too small for this, a small bust or model may take the, place of the hidden actor; while, on the other hand, if the under-stage is very large, abd all the arrange ments planned on a complete scale, there may be a whole group of hidden actors and actresses carrying out the details of some story by being reflected into phantoms all at once, or one or two at a time; they may even dance and sing, making their phantom reflections appear to do the like. In all this, there is no mirror or silvered glass, nor is there any focusing lens. The visible actors on. the visible stage may take up such positions as to be near the phantoms, and combine with them to play a dramatic scene. By having a trap in the under-stage, up which a hidden actor may ascend, or one in the proper stage, up which a visible actor may ascend; by arranging the transparent sheet of glass in such a way that it may be varied in inclination, and either raised or lowered; and by throwing light of various colors on the hidden actors, the ghostly effects may be very strikingly diversified. .4; Digitized by Microsoft CE)
Most of the subsequent patents relate to extensions of this method, with certain minor additions. Munro's patent (1863) is concerned chiefly with placing between the lamps and the hidden actor screens and media of various kinds, so as to let light fall on some parts, and leave others in darkness. In this way a phantom may be shown as if dismembered, head severed from the body, legs and arms separated, etc. By placing a movable mirror or silvered glass near the hidden actor, and shifting this while the action is going on, the pliantom may be made to go up and down and across the parent glass. By the aid of two or more mirrors, the phantom may be magnified or diminished in size. By other arrangements, the visible actor may seem to enter a solid cube, or may seem to give a bottle or a letter to the phantom—effects due, in fact, to the superposition of a reflected image upon an object seen by transmitted light. Maurice's patent (1865), instead of causing a hidden actor to be reflected as a phantom, makes the visible actor himself become a sort of phantom before the eyes of the specta tors. The phantom of a hidden object is superposed upon the real form of the actor by nice adjustment; and then, if the light is dimmed which falls upon the actor, and the light brightened which falls upon the hidden object, the former will appear to fade away into invisibility; or the arrangements may be so managed as to make him seem to go through a solid wall, or to be suspended in the air, or walking, or flying.
Without further describing particular arrangements, we may remark generally, that the most striking effects of these illusions are those which are due to superposition of two pictures or scenes, one reflected from the glass screen, and the other seen through it. It is easy to see what room there is for the exercise of ingenuity in contriving com binations of effects. The details of dramatic scenes can be enacted by phantoms and real persons combined. Punch and Judy can be made to go through their vagaries and batter each other, one being areal figure, and the other a phantom; and it is not until Punch sinks through the solid floor that the spectator knows which was the phantom.