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useo.MThe PRECINEMAMuseum.The Minici Zotti Collection.

Hand-painted magic lantern slides from the mid-1800s.Bi-unial Magic Lantern, “J. H. Steward”, England circa 1880.

Appollon pasteur - Mort d'hyacinthe: Hand painted slide, circa 1790, 36.5 x 9.5cmFrom a set of 108 slides attributed to the collection of the Lorraine, Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

The Museum displays exhibits including opticalviews, the “new world”, and a varied collection ofoptical instruments which, during the 19th century,but particularly during Victorian times, bore witness to the path that led to the birth of theCINEMA in 1895. Alongside simple toys, like thethaumatrope or the anamorphose we find morecomplex instruments including the phenakistoscope,praxinoscope and zoetrope, optical toys that createdthe illusion of movement.

The PRECINEMA Museum - Minici Zotti Collection,also known as the Museum of theMagic Lantern, opened its doors in1998. The PRECINEMA Museumholds a number of records, beingnot merely the only one of its kind in Italy expressly dedicated to Precinema history, but also receiving a “Declaration of LocalInterest” from the Veneto Region.Recently the Museum’s curator, Laura Minici Zotti, received the Sealof the City of Padua and above allthe important international JeanMitry Prize 2008 from the 27th

Pordenone Silent Film Festival for its constant research and dissemination in the cultural field.The Museum is housed in theimportant Palazzo Angeli, an elegant historicalbuilding looking over the large ‘Prato della Valle’square, founded and managed in collaboration with the Municipality of Padua. The city may also be referred to as the “capital of Precinema”,not only due to the presence of the Museum butalso because other lanternists put on shows hereduring the 19th century. Furthermore the Paduanexplorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni performed in England as a “lanternist” during the 18th

and 19th centuries. The Museum is therefore also a homage to this eclectic figure.

1 “Padova - La Specola", hand painted magic lantern slide, England, circa 1850.

2 Triple Magic Lantern, “J. H. Steward Magic Lantern”, London circa 1880.3 Palazzo Angeli, home to the PRECINEMA Museum.

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The PRECINEMA Museum celebrates its 10th birthday.

A section of the museum is dedicated to PHOTOGRAPHY, where we may admire Carlo Ponti’s “privilegiato” Megaletoscope of 1864(photo 11); in the same section we can discover the STEREOSCOPE, with antique portable (photo 7)or column-mounted (photo 14) devices showing photographic images that appear in 3-D. One particularly interesting image is an anaglyphpanoramic view of the Prato della Valle, in 3-D. But the museum’s jewel in the crown are its

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4 Inside the PRECINEMA Museum.5 “Chromatrope”, “moving” slide, hand painted, England, circa 1870.6 “Pettibone" Magic Lantern, USA 1893.

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MAGIC LANTERNS; various models document the fascinating journey of the painted and screen-projected image from the 1700s until the birthof the cinema. Among the most precious pieces on display, in addition to the single lanterns, J. H. Steward’s triple lantern in mahogany with brasslens piece that dates to circa 1880 (photo 2), W. Tyler’s double lantern, the scientific lantern by P. Harris & Co, the unusual USA-produced “The Pettibone” lantern (photo 6), antique bi-unial

lanterns and, finally, Walter Gibbons’“Cinematograph-Lantern”. The collection also includes toy painted tin lanterns with embossing byLapierre, Plank or Müller, and the highly colouredFrench “Salon” lanterns. Alongside the projectors,the museum also includes exhibits of slides datingfrom the 18th to 20th centuries: most are hand-painted,etched on glass or actual hand-coloured photo-graphs. Some are animated with different techniques,such as chromatropes (photo 5) or the famous stripchoreutoscope. The Museum also boasts a large collection of 18th century slides, including 108

hand-painted landscape slides and relative MagicLantern attributed to the collection of the Lorraine,Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Finally, the Museum includes a range of musical instruments (photo 9), a set of SILHOUETTES (photo 13), a JAVANESE SHADOWTHEATRE (photo 8) and the reconstruction ofCanaletto’s CAMERA OBSCURA (the original is on display at the Correr Museum in Venice) used toobserve the view over Prato della Valle. The collectionis completed with a MUTOSCOPE from the AmericanMutoscope and Biograph Company dating back tocirca 1890, a viewer showing moving photographs.

7 Stereoscope, "Holmes-Bates" model, USA circa 1880.8 Inside the PRECINEMA Museum, Javanese Shadow Theatre.9 Harmonium, J. Richard & C.te Etrépagny, France 1887;

Player piano with music rolls, England 1887;Organette with punched cards, circa 1890.

10 “Sipario”, hand painted slide, England, circa 1870.

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11 Megaletoscope “Privilegiato”, Carlo Ponti, Venice 1864.12 “Dama a Carnevale", hand painted magic lantern slide,

F. Weeks, England 1865.13 “Silhouettes”, hand painted magic lantern slide.14 Stereoscope, A. Claudet, France circa 1855.

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the Bookshop. The optical instruments behind the birth of the cinema have been ignored for toomany years, and now the Museum preserves themand tells their fascinating story, to assure that they are not forgotten.

At the end of the tour, visitors are shown a 20-minute projection demonstrating and narrating the fascinating history of theArchaeology of the Cinema, with images taken from the Minici Zotti Collection.To satisfy the demands of schools and visitors, reproductions of some of the original exhibits can be used directly, offering a hands-on experience.The commitment to itinerant Magic Lantern performances and exhibitions around the world over the past few years has been great. Among them we may recall “SUBTLE CHARM OF STEREOSCOPY (1850-1950)”, dedicated to old-fashioned 3-dimensional photographic images, and “ABSOLUTELY BLACKSilhouettes and Shadow Theatre”.Laura Minici Zotti continues to put on MagicLantern shows in Italy and abroad with a number of different programmes. Catalogues, CD-ROMs and a range of optical toys are available from

MAGIC LANTERN PERFORMANCESLaura Minici Zotti – collector, curator of the Precinema Museum in Padua,

but also skilled “lanternist” – has been spreading her knowledge of Magic Lanterns in performances in the most prestigious theatres around the world since 1975, using a biunial

Magic Lantern made by J. H. Steward dating back to 1880, together with 19th century hand-painted slides, often animated by small, complex mechanisms.

Her aim is to re-evoke the true atmosphere of Victorian entertainment.The exclusive prerogative of the shows put on by the “Italian lanternist” is to recreate the life and times of famous people of the past. The ideas, directing and scripts of her performances

are the result of an unrivalled personal and scientific research project.

GOETHE’S ITALIAN JOURNEYEnding with some scenes taken from the works of Faust.

An actor in the room impersonates Goethe as he writes and re-reads his impressions of his journey to Italy, while the Magic Lantern projects images of the cities described and the situations experienced

by him. At that time, only a few fortunate people would have been able to afford the luxury of the Grand Tour by carriage, just as Goethe did, when he came to Italy in 1786 to study ancient art,

to be seduced by the landscapes and customs of the country’s inhabitants.

ITALIAN VISIONS by C. DICKENS This Magic Lantern performance tells of Dickens’ journey to Italy in 1846, paying homage

to his literary works. This antique projection was known also to Dickens in person, and both he and the public of the time were enchanted by the work. The show is accompanied by texts written

by him, which evoke the emotions of past times.

IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME...(Programme from 1884 taken from a poster advertising the lanternist Charles Ellemberg)

This repertory, much loved by the 19th century public, includes “fading distant landscapes” and “moving pictures” which show: astronomy, storms at sea, fires, snowfall, moonlit landscapes

and, to finish, “kaleidoscopic and adamantine games”.

VICTORIAN CHRISTMASThe most beautiful magic lantern images showing Christmas in past times.

The programme includes “moving” and fixed images that tell of Marley’s Ghost (C. Dickens), Le petite pouvre de Noël, La voix des clochers, Ben Hur.

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Riviera dei Mugnai, 835137 PadovaTel. +39 049 8767911Fax +39 049 650794

www.turismopadova.itwww.turismotermeeuganee.it

THE PRECINEMA MUSEUMThe Minici Zotti CollectionPrato della Valle, 1/A35123 PADOVATel. 049 8763838Fax: 049 8780280

E-mail: [email protected]: www.minicizotti.it

Curator: Laura Minici Zotti

Opening hours:10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Closed on Tuesdays Closed on:January 1st, Easter, April 25th, May 1st, August 1st to 15th, December 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st.

Entry fee: € 3.00; concessions € 2.00 (Padovacard holders); guided tours for schools and groups € 5.00 per person.

Museum services:disabled access, bookshop, guided tours, video projection room.

Provincia di Padova Comune di Padova

© Foto: Archivio fotografico Museo del PRECINEMA

With the participation of:

MComune di Padova

IAT Galleria PedrocchiTel. 049 8767927

IAT Railway stationTel.049 8752077

IAT Piazza del SantoTel. 049 8753087 (open March/October)

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