The main objective of this paper is to present some of the practices that characterized the commercial exploitation of projected images in Porto Alegre, particularly that of magic lantern still images as shown in public projections between 1861 and 1908. By identifying the uses and associations that gave an impetus to this experience in two different settings - i.e. prior to and after the advent of cinema in the city (1896) - it is possible to observe how certain ways of showing and seeing have remained unchanged or evolved, as well as its implications for the constitution of modern visuality.
Optical entertainment; Projection shows; Magic lantern; Cinema
