Techniques of Illusion: A Cultural and Media History of Stage Magic in the Late Nineteenth Century

— —

Katharina Rein (University of Potsdam, Germany)

Techniques of Illusion

A Cultural and Media History of Stage Magic in the Late Nineteenth Century

Katharina Rein (University of Potsdam, Germany)

$284

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Routledge
14 August 2023

The Arts: General & Reference; History of Art & Design Styles; Performance art; Theatre Studies; Magic, alchemy & hermetic thought

Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies

This book explores stage conjuring during its “golden age,” from about 1860 to 1910.

This study provides close readings highlighting four paradigmatic illusions of the time that stand in for different kinds of illusions typical of stage magic in the “golden age” and analyses them within their cultural and media-historical context: “Pepper’s Ghost,” the archetypical mirror illusion; “The Vanishing Lady,” staging a teleportation in a time of a dizzying acceleration of transport; “the levitation,” simulating weightlessness with the help of an extended steel machinery; and “The Second Sight,” a mind-reading illusion using up-to-date communication technologies. These close readings are completed by writings focusing on visual media and expanding the scope backwards and forwards in time, roughly to 1800 and to 2000.

This exploration will be of great interest to students and scholars in theatre and performance studies.

By: Katharina Rein (University of Potsdam Germany)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 780g
ISBN: 9781032220796
ISBN 10: 1032220791
Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies
Pages: 318
Publication Date: 14 August 2023
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Ghosts of the enlightenment. Phantasmagoria 2 Appearing and disappearing. Mirror illusions 3 Bending space and time. The vanish Entr’acte: Magic and early cinema 4 Techniques of weightlessness. Levitation 5 Codes and signals. Mentalism Entr’acte: Magic and media around 1900. The Prestige Concluding remarks Index

Katharina Rein currently works as a Lecturer in European Media Studies at the University of Potsdam, Germany.