The portrayal and the putative portrayal of illusions and images has always attracted the attention of magicians, charlatans and pseudoscientists. In the late 1800s, there seemed to be a popular demand for visual displays and exhibitions of the unexpected as part of the social fabric of living, a demand which can now be fulfilled by various media forms. Even great writers were not immune from referring to magical illusory effects.

Inspec keywords: history; television

Other keywords: visual displays; media forms; television

Subjects: Other general electrical engineering topics