"The viewer for three-dimensional pictures, known as the Photoplasticon, was invented in Germany in the second half of the 19th century. The new invention soon became popular, enabling everyone to visit the most distant parts of the world, at a reasonable cost, without having to undertake an expensive and risky journey. The three-dimensional pictures produced by a special dual-lens camera provided an amazing illusion of reality. Thus, the Age of Steam, offered the average citizen the possibility of enjoying virtual tourism without the usual restrictions of time and space. Photoplasticons (known as Kaiserpanorama in Germany) appeared in every corner of the world. By the turn of the century they already numbered about 250 in the whole of Europe. However in time, the Brothers Lumière in Paris introduced their cinema of „living pictures" – an appealing invention which soon displaced the Photoplasticons. Gradually, the strange, impractical Photoplasticon drums were forgotten...
(((That device is awesome. That has to be seen to be believed. I had never heard of such a contraption, and I thought I knew the pre-cinema scene pretty well. The thought that one is still alive and making money is astounding. It even has its own website!)))
http://www.fotoplastikon.stereos.com.pl/fotoplastikon/index-en.html
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