Frankenstein: Texts and Contexts

A brief video of the automaton built by German cabinetmaker David Roentgen, and presented to the King of France in 1784.

A short documentary on the work of watchmaker Jacque Droz (1721–1790), from the company that still bears his name.

The record of games played during its exhibition in London. The writer claims that the machine played 345 games, losing only six.

Jessica Riskin's study of automata in early modern Europe, and how they embodied the quest for artificial life.

In his allegory 'The Looking Glass of Actuality, or Beauty to the Highest Bidder' François-Félix Nogaret tells the story of an inventor named Frankenstein who constructs a mechanical man.

Jessica Riskin outlines the history of mechanical devices that mimicked the processes of sentient life.

This documentary, presented by Professor Simon Schaffer, appeared on the BBC in 2013 (43 min.).

A description of the most famous automaton of the age, The Mechanical Turk, which defeated Napoleon in a game of chess.

Located in the Bowes Museum in Durham, England, this device appears to catch a fish from a stream (at the 5:00 mark).

This chapter, from 'The Wonders of Optics' by Fulgence Marion, examines the horror-themed magic lantern shows popularized by Étienne-Gaspard "Robertson" Robert in the late 18th-century.

The glass harmonica was used to create eerie sound effects during magic lantern performances. This article also contains a contemporary account of how the dead could seem to be brought back to life during a phantasmagoria show.

A paper by Tom Gunning, Professor of Media History at the University of Chicago.

This brief documentary from the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia examines the history of the magic lantern and its use as a form of public entertainment (13:17 min.).

Jeremy Brooker discusses the nature of a phantasmagoria performance using magic lanterns (6:30 min).

Prof. Fabio Camilletti provides an overview of the phantasmagoria and its revolutionary implications.