Phantasmagoria was most popular in Paris in the late 1790s, probably as some kind of a psychological reaction to the horrors of the French Revolution. Men and women of the day thought much of death, ghosts and the like.
The basic idea for combining motion illusions successfully with the magic lantern is traced directly to Musschenbroek. The use of smoke for a screen goes back to the ancient practitioners of light and shadow trickery.
Guyot showed, on a small scale, how ghost illusions can be projected on smoke. He noted, “It is remarkable in this representation, that the motion of smoke does not at all change the figures, which appear so conspicuous that the spectator thinks he can grasp them with his hand.”
These devices were intended primarily for simple amusement on a private or semi-private scale.
An indication of the mood of the European people of the time is the fame granted Alessandro Conte di Cagliostro (1743–1795). This man whose real name was Giuseppe Balsamo was known throughout Europe in the latter part of the 18th century. Thomas Carlyle wrote about him under the title “Count Cagliostro.” He used all kinds of deceptive devices, and was jailed in France, England and in his native Italy where he died.
The black magic of Cagliostro, the phantasm images, and a third factor, the Shadow Plays, were to be combined to make the Phantasmagoria.
Earlier mention has been made of the Chinese Shadow Plays which have been in use in the Far East for thousands of years. Towards the middle of the 18th century the Shadow Plays were very popular in Germany. Shadows were used to portray action. The audience sat before a translucent screen on which were cast, by means of a strong light source, shadows of the various players or objects. In certain arrangements a regular magic lantern would also be used, projecting, from in front of the screen, the background scenery or cloud and sky effects.
A showman named François Seraphin has been credited with introducing the Shadow Plays—Ombres Chinoises—into France in 1772. He got the idea during his travels in Italy. Then the shadow entertainment received its French “first night” at the Palace of Versailles. Light and Shadow Plays were very popular at the royal court, especially with the children. In 1784 Seraphin decided that the entertainment was ready for introduction on a popular basis—the trend of the times may well have influenced his decision.
The Shadow Play theatre of Seraphin was moved from Versailles to the Palais-Royal and its popularity continued for a time. Shadow entertainment was carried on by members of the same family till past the middle of the 19th century when an attempt was made to regain popularity by using marionettes. Other Shadow Plays continued to attract audiences in Paris until the end of the 19th century, when the pre-motion picture devices became popular.
Phantasmagoria reached its peak under an extraordinary character—Etienne Gaspard Robert (1763–1837), a Belgian and a practicer of a multitude of professions and hobbies. Robert, for some reason, called himself Robertson. Robertson started life on a serious enough basis and in time became professor of physics in his native town of Liége.