|
Post by valis on Mar 31, 2005 17:51:40 GMT
I just found this nice pice of info at easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~s-herbert/pepghost.htmA retired civil engineer, Henry Dircks, worked out a concept for presenting a ghost on a theatre stage in 1858, but the designs were impractical. In 1862, presenter of optical wonders "Professor" Henry Pepper, suggested that he and Dircks re-design it. An actor off-stage (below or to one side) dressed as a ghost was illuminated by the light from a lantern, and his transparent image, formed on an angled sheet of glass that filled the stage aperture, appeared to the audience to 'interact' with live performers. The patent was taken out in both their names, but they parted soon after the first show at the London Polytechnic. Dircks felt cheated, but without Pepper's flair for showmanship and publicity, and his skill at devising improvements, The Ghost would probably have remained simply an interesting notion. It had some success in the theatre, but getting the glass into position was a laborious process, and cut off the stage behind it acoustically. The effect was exploited successfully on the British fairgrounds, and by the 1890s the fairground 'ghost show' or 'bogey' had developed into one of the most successful forms of 'walk up' show. However, within a few years of the introduction of film, the travelling ghost-show had been superseded by the bioscope show. ref: Mervyn Heard
|
|
|
Post by abbey on Apr 1, 2005 17:10:54 GMT
Now THAT is strange indeed
|
|
|
Post by Jilli on Aug 2, 2005 8:37:25 GMT
valis' post had me interested so i googled henry pepper Professor John Henry Pepper became the director of the Royal Polytechnic Institute in 1854 and introduced crowd-pleasing attractions such as the Signor Buono Core who walked through fire and was known as the Italian Salamander. His most famous illusion was ‘Pepper’s Ghost Illusion,’ a carefully constructed combination of mirrors and lighting that combined to produce ghosts on the stage. The ghost illusion was first demonstrated on 24 December 1862, in an adaptation of a Dickens Christmas story. Pepper had originally intended to follow the demonstration with a lecture on the science behind the effect. But when he saw the effect the illusion had on the audience he realised that he had a winning attraction and kept the science a secret. Audiences were fascinated. Intrigued spectators returned again and again to ponder the illusion. Keeping the explanation a secret ultimately communicated the science behind the illusion to many more people than an immediate explanation would have done. The Pepper’s Ghost Illusion was extraordinarily popular and was seen by nearly a quarter of a million people. It was licensed to theatres around Britain and a decade later Pepper took the effect to America. www.nesta.org.uk/inspireme/think_nolan.htmlI really think this is what Sgt pepper was based on.
|
|
|
Post by valis on Aug 2, 2005 13:48:16 GMT
There's also a progrockband called "Arena"who just released their new album "Pepper's Ghost" note the 4 persons and ghostlike fifth. Their site is at www.verglas.com/arenaworld/All Love Jan
|
|
TheDZ
Provocative Operator
Posts: 435
|
Post by TheDZ on Aug 3, 2005 0:00:22 GMT
|
|
ilras
Contributor
Posts: 62
|
Post by ilras on Aug 29, 2005 10:53:10 GMT
Quote: "Professor John Henry Pepper became the director of the Royal Polytechnic Institute in 1854 and introduced crowd-pleasing attractions such as the Signor Buono Core who walked through fire and was known as the Italian Salamander. His most famous illusion was ‘Pepper’s Ghost Illusion,’ a carefully constructed combination of mirrors and lighting that combined to produce ghosts on the stage. " Just to put in evidence that "Buono Core" means litterally "Good Heart". Pepper, Heart...
|
|