Kircher and the Lanterna Magica — A Reexamination

Athanasius Kircher has been identified with the magic lantern for centuries - often being called the device's inventor. Although Kircher did develop a projection lantern late in his career, the apparatus was developed and introduced before him by inventors such as Christiaen Huyghens, Thomas Walgensten, Richard Reeves, Pierre Petit, and Francesco Eschinardi. Whatever plaudits are deserved by the inventor of the lantern, a device that after all was the progenitor of the film projector, they rather appear to belong to Huyghens, who had a lantern ready by 1659.

Print ISSN

0036-1682

Published

1981-10

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J01365