Victorians Had Their Own Version of Netflix: 'Magic Lanterns' (original) (raw)

Netflix didn't exist during the Victorian era, of course, but people living during the 1800s and early 1900s had another way to binge-watch: the "magic lantern." According to new research, these early projectors were much more common and accessible than previously thought.

Magic lanterns — basically an early form of the slide projector — could show 3D and even moving images (much like today's GIFs) to entertain a captive audience. But given the lanterns' high price tag, modern historians long suspected that few but the wealthy could afford these projectors.

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