THE HORSE RACE ON THE STAGE.

When first introduced, the horse race upon the stage was a decided novelty, and it is doubtful if any stage illusion is more ingenious. The two principal plays in which the horse race has been used are Neil[son] Burgess’s clever and popular play, “The County Fair,” and a French play called “Paris Port de Mer.” In both of these plays three horses, each ridden by a jockey, race upon the stage without going out of sight of the spectators. We have here a real effect plus an illusion. The horses are free from all restraint and really gallop, but the ground disappears under their feet, moving in a direction opposite to that of the run; the landscape, as well as the fences, also fly past in a direction contrary to the forward motion of the horses. The illusion in both of the plays we have mentioned is very similar, but we think the American invention is preferable. At the proper moment the large screw shown in the lower part of our [engraving] is set in motion by the electric motors. It lifts the mechanism of the horse race up to the level of the floor, which had previously covered it. The lights in the theater are turned out, and after a few moments of inky blackness the flying horses appear at the side of the stage, in a blaze of light, and seem to strain every nerve, fairly flying past the varied landscape. Fences and trees disappear behind them with startling rapidity. When at last the finish is near, one of the horses gradually works forward and becomes the winner by a neck as he approaches the judges’ stand. After an instant of darkness a flash of light follows, and the horses are pulled up in front of the judges’ pavilion and the race is won.

This result is accomplished by means of three flexible endless platforms passing over rollers at the sides of the stage. These moving platforms enable the horses to be in rapid motion without actually moving forward, and, as a matter of fact, instead of moving forward, they are well secured by wire rope traces. As the race nears the finish, the platform on which the winning horse is stationed is gradually slipped forward on a track provided for the purpose, the actual movement being, of course, only a few feet. The space between the fence and the scenery is fourteen feet, which gives ample space for free action of the horses. The fence in the foreground consists of a number of pickets fastened to an endless belt. The pickets run in guides which hold them rigidly perpendicular during their passage over the stage. The scenery back of the stage is carried by two powerful rollers, and is turned by means of an electric motor so arranged that it may be unwound at any rate of speed. Much of the effect of the scene is due to the speed with which the electric lights are flashed from extreme darkness to brilliant light. The illusion is further heightened by the way in which the horses’ manes are tossed about. This is accomplished in a very novel manner. In the extreme lower right-hand corner of our [engraving] will be seen a blower actuated by an electric motor. Air from this blower is conducted to a large funnel which discharges the air just out of sight of the audience. This causes the horses’ manes to be blown in all directions. All of the complicated electrical apparatus is driven from a single switchboard at the right, which is usually manipulated by Mr. Burgess himself. Our engraving is from “The Electrical World.”

ELECTRICAL DEVICES IN “THE COUNTY FAIR.”

[Enlarged illustration] (200 kB)

Our other [engraving] shows the arrangement as used in the French play, “Paris Port de Mer.” The tracks are formed of an endless matting of cocoa-nut fibre. This belt runs over drums at each side of the stage and is made taut by a third drum on a level with the stage floor. The belt is supported by a series of wooden rollers which are placed very close together and revolve on pivots. The drum at the left of the stage is driven directly by the motor. The fence is mounted on an endless belt, as in the Burgess illusion, and is operated by an air motor. The panorama, which unwinds in a minute and a quarter, is operated by hand.

Mr. Neil[son] Burgess devised another plan for producing the illusion of a horse or other race. Two or more disks or wheels of appropriate size are secured to a common shaft so that they will rotate independently. The wheels are of different diameters, so that the larger will afford a clear path for the contestants. The racers are held back by wires which pass over windlasses, and their relative positions may be governed by paying out or drawing in the wire. The runners, of course, cause the rotation of the disk as in a horse power, and this gives the illusion of real running. An appropriate background scene may be used, and the shaft carrying the disks may be moved across the stage by journaling it in a four-wheel truck, the flooring being removed so as to permit of this horizontal movement.

An American, Mr. Frank M. Chapman, invented another scheme for producing the same illusion. He devised a circular track, or turntable, somewhat the same as that used in horse powers. A panorama is carried by rollers, and works across the proscenium opening. One or more horses are placed upon the turntable at any desired point between the panorama and the front of the stage, and are then started. They are held back in the same manner as in the ordinary treadmill, and will not advance until the wire is slackened. In the meantime the panorama is moving in the direction opposite to that in which the horses are supposed to be moving. This operation is accomplished by means of the gear connection between the rollers of the panorama and the horses acting on the surface of the turntable to turn the same.