AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Wortley William Baggally at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th November 1881.
WORTLEY WILLIAM BAGGALLY, of Kensington, in the County of Middlesex.
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OPTICAL ILLUSIONS."
My Invention relates to a simple portable apparatus whereby an object placed in
& proper position with regard to the said apparatus will be reflected in such a
manner that the image or reflection of the said object will be very clearly seen by
a person looking into the said apparatus, whilst the object itself is invisible to him,
thus providing means for producing optical illusions of an interesting and amusing
character.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a box, which is entirely
open at one end thereof. At the opposite end a small circular aperture or orifice is
made in the wood or other material forming the end piece or wall of the box, to
which aperture a person applies his eye in order to see the reflected object. At a
short distance from this aperture, and within the box, I provide a partition, in
which a square, rectangular, or round aperture is made exactly opposite to but
larger than the aforesaid circular aperture. The object of this second aperture is
to prevent the edges of a sheet of glass, and another aperture, both hereinafter
mentioned, being visible to the spectator. In one of the side walls or in the top or
the bottom piece of the said box I provide an aperture, and in front of this aperture
within the box I secure a clear sheet of glass, which is placed at an angle of, say,
about 60 degrees; with respect to the said aperture this angle may however be
somewhat greater or somewhat less. The apparatus so constructed is placed upon a
table or other suitable support, and the object to be reflected is placed at a short
distance from the said apparatus and opposite the last named aperture. The
reflection of the said object will thus be thrown upon the inclined glass, and will
appear to a person looking through the small circular aperture to be situated in the
room at some distance from the apparatus. The object to be reflected must be well
lighted by lamps or otherwise, and the reflection or image seen by the spectator
will be very clear. A slide with coloured glass or gelatine may be placed in front
of the aperture, which is opposite to the object, so that the latter will be reflected
in this colour, and I also provide a blank slide to quickly cover or uncover this
Prine O21

page_text: aperture. A remarkable effect will be produced if the object to be reflected is the
head of an individual. In this case the person whose head is to be reflected places
himself in a proper position and at a suitable distance from the apparatus, and the
spectator looking through the circular orifice will see what appears to him to be a
real human head, which, if a pedestal be placed at the proper distance from the
apparatus, will seem to be resting upon this pedestal without any connection with
the trunk or body. Any motion of the eyes, mouth, or other part of the real head will
be perfectly reproduced in the reflection. When the apparatus is to be used it is
so arranged that the front part in which the circular orifice is provided is the only
outer portion thereof visible to the spectator, that is to say, a curtain or other
device must be employed behind which the person or object to be reflected is placed,
so as to be invisible to the spectator.
It will be obvious that although a head of an individual has been mentioned as
a suitable object, any other object may be reflected by this apparatus in a similar
manner.