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And another one in Lisbon, and a representation of one at work in the Powell & Pressburger movie, A Matter of Life and Death. The camera obscura seems to have been around for about a thousand years, though Giambattista della Porta in 1553 claimed to have invented it. James ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Ditton" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 4:39 PM Subject: Re: visual surveillance in early fiction > Sounds like a camera obscura to me: I think they were invented well before > 1894. There is a working one in Edinburgh. > > Jason > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Dietmar Kammerer" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 2:15 PM > Subject: visual surveillance in early fiction > > >> dear all, >> >> the following is an excerpt from "The Land of the Changing Sun", a >> science-fiction underwater novel by William N. Harben, written in 1894. >> It's an early example of a fictional visual surveillance technology used >> by the police, including the ability to zoom, automatic recognition of >> deviance and even automatic apprehension of offenders. (i.e., it's >> clearly more than simply "direct visual surveillance", which of course is >> centuries old) >> >> Is anyone aware of earlier examples in literature? Any suggestions are >> welcome. >> >> With best regards, >> Dietmar >> >> >> ... [The king] waved his hand and dismissed a number of courtiers who >> were waiting to be called, and rose from the throne and led the two >> captives into a large apartment adjoining the throne-room. Here they >> found six men in blue uniforms looking into a large circular mirror on a >> table. They all bowed and moved aside as the king approached. >> >> "These men are the municipal police," explained the king, resting his >> hand on the gold frame of the glass; "they are watching the city." And >> when the strangers drew nearer they were surprised to see reflected, in >> the deeply concave glass, the entire city in miniature; its streets, >> parks, public buildings, and moving populace. And what seemed to be the >> most remarkable feature of the invention was, that the instant the eye >> rested on any particular portion of the whole that part was at once >> magnified so that every detail of it was clearly observable. >> >> "This is an improvement on your police system," continued the king. "No >> sooner does anything go wrong than a red signal is given on the spot of >> the trouble and the attention of these officers is immediately called to >> it. A flying machine is sent out and the offender is brought to the >> police station; but trouble of any nature rarely occurs, and the duties >> of our police are merely nominal; my people live in thorough harmony. >> Now, come with me and I will give you an idea of the surrounding >> country." >> >> -- >> [Dietmar Kammerer] >> [Weserstrasse 47] >> [10247 Berlin] >> [tel 030.29003536] >> [mob 0179.5306683] >> >> **************************************************** >> This is a message from the SURVEILLANCE listserv >> for research and teaching in surveillance studies. >> >> To unsubscribe, please send the following message to >> <[log in to unmask]>: >> >> UNSUBSCRIBE SURVEILLANCE >> >> For further help, please visit: >> >> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help >> **************************************************** > > **************************************************** > This is a message from the SURVEILLANCE listserv > for research and teaching in surveillance studies. > > To unsubscribe, please send the following message to > <[log in to unmask]>: > > UNSUBSCRIBE SURVEILLANCE > > For further help, please visit: > > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help > **************************************************** > **************************************************** This is a message from the SURVEILLANCE listserv for research and teaching in surveillance studies. To unsubscribe, please send the following message to <[log in to unmask]>: UNSUBSCRIBE SURVEILLANCE For further help, please visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help ****************************************************