"A distraction"

Dublin Core

Title

"A distraction"

Subject

Théâtrophone Listening

Description

The 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair) prominently showcased several exciting new technologies, among them the théâtrophone. For a small fee, fair-goers could use this new technology to listen to a few minutes of a live operatic performance at the Paris Opéra. Renouard's illustration, featured in Louis d'Hurcourt's "Téléphones et phonographes à l'Exposition Universelle," depicts a woman so immersed in the opera she listens to through the théâtrophone that she puts down the receiver to applaud, momentarily believing herself to actually be at the opera house. This speaks to the largely positive public reception of the device, with many users amazed by what they perceived to be an impressive clarity of sound. The théâtrophone was so popular that many Parisians installed them in their homes, allowing them to tune into the Paris Opera House from the comfort of their living rooms. Théâtrophones could also be found in such public meeting places as cafés and hotels, where patrons could use them for a small fee.

Creator

Paul Renouard

Source

Annegret Fauser, “The Marvels of Technology,” in Musical Encounters at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2005), 279-312.

Paul Renouard, "Une distraction," illustration accompanying Louis d'Hurcourt, "Téléphones et phonographes à l'Exposition Universelle," L'Illustration 47 (October 19, 1889): 330.

Melissa Van Drie, “Hearing through the théâtrophone: Sonically Constructed Spaces and Embodied Listening in Late Nineteenth-Century French Theatre,” SoundEffects 5, no. 1 (2015): 74-90.

Date

1889

Contributor

Julia Clifford

Rights

public domain

Relation

Image

Format

Printed illustration/jpeg

Language

French

Type

Image

Files

1889.jpg

Citation