This late 1800s Megalethoscope Albumen photo slide features the square and church of St. Peter's, Vatican City, Rome. The image and its backing are extremely fragile and will break if touched. This image has one tear that runs the length of the image. The backside also has one tear. Please see photos. The image itself is 13½x10¾," and it is mounted on a 17½x11¾" curved wood frame.
The Megalethoscope is a sophisticated 19th-century optical instrument used to view photographs with an illusion of three-dimensionality and shifting lighting effects. Invented by the Venetian photographer and optician Carlo Ponti around 1862, it was a high-status item of furniture often made of finely carved walnut or other luxury woods.
It used large, multi-layered albumen prints mounted on curved wooden frames. These slides were meticulously prepared with pinpricks and thinned paper (for glowing windows or stars) and painted with colors on the back that only became visible when backlit.
Ponti originally created a smaller version called the Alethoscope in 1860. The megalethoscope was the larger, more advanced "deluxe" version. Because they were expensive and could only be bought directly from Ponti in Venice, they became prized possessions for "armchair travelers" who wanted to experience the sights of Europe from their parlors.
The Megalethoscope is a sophisticated 19th-century optical instrument used to view photographs with an illusion of three-dimensionality and shifting lighting effects. Invented by the Venetian photographer and optician Carlo Ponti around 1862, it was a high-status item of furniture often made of finely carved walnut or other luxury woods.
It used large, multi-layered albumen prints mounted on curved wooden frames. These slides were meticulously prepared with pinpricks and thinned paper (for glowing windows or stars) and painted with colors on the back that only became visible when backlit.
Ponti originally created a smaller version called the Alethoscope in 1860. The megalethoscope was the larger, more advanced "deluxe" version. Because they were expensive and could only be bought directly from Ponti in Venice, they became prized possessions for "armchair travelers" who wanted to experience the sights of Europe from their parlors.
