Long before cinema was invented, people went to picture shows. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Britain, Europe and America they were treated to dramatic pictorial
spectacles.
Audiences might be encircled by vast 360-degree canvases, or seated before continuous images drawn across a proscenium, or gathered in amusement parks to watch painted 3-D structures come
'alive' with the explosion of fireworks overhead. The sense of realism was enhanced by back-lighting, running commentaries and props such as real sand and trees.
Canvas Documentaries captures the artistic, civic and social preoccupations of the times. Generously illustrated with paintings, etchings, engravings, mechanical drawings, architectural plans,
photographs and advertising material, this beautiful book is a window on the vibrant popular culture of the Victorian era.
