CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 5/13/2019

Seance vs. Science in 'The Spectacle of Illusion'

Featured image, of an early twentieth-century séance in progress, is reproduced from The Spectacle of Illusion, Dr. Matthew L. Tompkins' comprehensive and copiously illustrated new examination of paranormal illusions since the 1800s. "Magician William S. Marriott stands in the background, ostensibly witnessing the emergence of a female apparition carrying a 'spirit' bird and flowers," the caption reads. "This was one of many glass lantern slides used by psychic investigator Harry Price in his talks, to demonstrate the methods and equipment regularly used by fraudulent mediums at the time."