The Kaiserpanorama (or Kaiser-Panorama) is a form of

stereoscopic Stereoscopy, also called stereoscopics or stereo imaging, is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

entertainment medium used chiefly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and is considered a precursor to film. It was invented by August Fuhrmann (1844–1925), and patented by him in 1890. It consisted of a number of viewing stations from which people would peer through a pair of lenses to view a number of rotating

glass slides. By 1910 Fuhrmann is said to have controlled exhibitions in over 250 branches across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and to have held up to 100,000 slides in his central archive.

Description

A kaiserpanorama would normally have around 25 wooden stations, each with a pair of viewing lenses. Inside the device there would be a rotating mechanism showing numerous

images on rear-illuminated glass, giving a 3D effect. KayserPanorama

Reconstructions

Various modern reconstructions, as well as a few authentic remaining kaiserpanoramas, exist in the

Munich Stadtmuseum The Munich Stadtmuseum (German: "Münchner Stadtmuseum") or Munich City Museum, is the city museum of Munich. It was founded in 1888 by Ernst von Destouches. It is located in the former municipal arsenal and stables, both buildings of the late ...

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the List of cities and towns in Austria, eighth largest city in Aus ...

German Historical Museum The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is ofte ...

, the Märkisches Museum (Berlin),

Neugersdorf Neugersdorf (; , ) is a town in the district Görlitz, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the border with the Czech Republic, 4 km south of Ebersbach, and 17 km northwest of Zittau. Since 1 January 2011, it has be ...

, Pioneer Settlement (

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

, Australia), Muzeum Kinematografii (

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland),

Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology) in Berlin, Germany is a museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, and exhibits a large collection of historical technical artifacts. The museum's main emphasis originally was on rail tra ...

(

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

), the Düsseldorf Film Museum, the

Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an Art museum, art, Natural history museum, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the ...

(

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, Holland) and the

Fotomuseum Antwerp Fotomuseum Antwerp, also known as FOMU, is a museum of photography in Antwerp, Belgium. History and programme The museum opened in 1986. The Fotomuseum in Antwerp has a historical and contemporary collection of photography that is given a new p ...

. Another example is the

Warsaw Fotoplastikon The Warsaw Fotoplastikon is a stereoscopic theatre based on the Kaiserpanorama system of rotating stereoscopic images located in Warsaw, Poland. Operating at the same location since 1946, it is the oldest stereoscopic theatre in Europe still in ...

,Fotoplastikon Warszawski

. built in 1905, which, despite very similar design, is not under the name kaiserpanorama. During the German occupation, it was used by the Polish resistance as a meeting point. There was a dismantled kaiserpanorama in

Snibston Discovery Museum Snibston is an area and former civil parish east of Ravenstone, Leicestershire, Ravenstone, now in the parish of Ravenstone with Snibstone, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. Originally rural, par ...

Coalville Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 road, A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junct ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, UK. The museum is closed, and the panorama is now in storage and under the care of

Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...

. The museum of the occupation at the

Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory () is a former metal item factory in Kraków. It now hosts two museums: the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków, on the former workshops, and a branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, situate ...

in Kraków, Poland, uses a fotoplastikon to show historical pictures.

References

External links

* http://www.aiq.talktalk.net/3D/kaiserpanorama.htm * http://inthejungleofcities.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/the-kaiser-panorama/ * http://ignomini.com/photographica/stereophotovintage/kaiserpanorama/kaiserpanorama.html * http://dmim-blog.com/2012/12/28/the-kaiser-panorama/ Audiovisual introductions in 1890 History of film Optical toys Optical illusions 3D imaging Film and video technology {{film-tech-stub