Overview

"In 1900, Paris had no tourist helicopters, no skyscrapers, no drones; and yet, visitors to the city had many opportunities for a bird's-eye view. They could ride on a tethered balloon or rise to the pinnacle of the Eiffel Tower. They could visit a panorama painting depicting the view from Notre-Dame or take in a ""panstereorama,"" a model of the city built in miniature, replicating a balloon view. In short, there were countless aerial options available on ground level, well before aviation made such views widely accessible. In Aeroscopics, Patrick Ellis offers a history of the view from above, written from below. Premised upon extensive archival work and richly illustrated, this interdisciplinary study reveals the forgotten media that were available to the public in the Balloon Era and after. Ellis resurrects these neglected spectacles as ""aeroscopics,"" opening up new possibilities for the history of aerial vision."

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9780520355491

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Reviews

Aeroscopics opens new ground for media archeology, not just by adding a list of less-known media to the already very long list of recently rediscovered lost or forgotten media, but also by offering new perspectives on media we thought we knew, such as the panorama or the first aviation flights. It equally makes a great contribution to the broader concept of mechanical subjectivity, while healthily repeating to us the danger of tunnel vision and presentism. * Leonardo *

Author Information

Patrick Ellis is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Tampa.

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