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]
>>
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