‘Victorian New Media: the Anglo-Boer War in Films, Stereographs and Lantern Slides’. Free In-Person Talk, Birkbeck Uni, London

Date: 23rd January, 18.30 – 21.00.

Location: Birkbeck University of London, 43 Gordon Square, London.

Free admission.

Stereoscopy was the 19th century’s first great optical innovation, just before photography, which soon became its essential partner. Invented by Charles Wheatstone, stereoscopes were later an essential part of the Victorian parlour. They could transport you to distant places – and even take you to the heart of distant wars, like the South African War of 1899-1902. So too could the even newer ‘animated pictures’… but which of the new media was most effective? Professor Ian Christie will show a selection of Boer War films by Robert Paul, and offer stereoscopic views from the battlefields for comparison.

For details and booking: https://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event/58138/victorian-new-media-the-anglo-boer-war-in-films-stereographs-and-lantern-slides