Early forms of projectors included Athanasius Kircher’s “Magic Lantern,” which deployed candle light, lenses, and mirrors to project imagery on to the walls of the College of Rome. These devices, along with the strategic placement of angled mirror—used to create multiple images of objects and artifacts in his museum—were deployed to enhance viewer experience and promote Catholicism.

Image: The magic lantern, from Giorgio de Sepibus, Romani Collegii Musaeum Celeberrimum, p. 39, courtesy Stanford Library, Stanford University

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