The Age of the Diorama

Tower Pageant

Daguerre created the Diorama and they were increasingly used in the 19th and 20th Century to counter-balance the object orientated displays.

They provided a human context for museum objects.

In the late 20th Century the diorama morphed into the 'Dark Ride' Museum - like the Jorvic Centre in York and the Tower Pageant in London (since closed).

Diorama (Di`o*ra"ma) n. [Gr. to see through; = dia` through + to see; cf. that which is seen, a sight: cf. F. diorama. Cf. Panorama.]

1. A mode of scenic representation, invented by Daguerre and Bouton, in which a painting is seen from a distance through a large opening. By a combination of transparent and opaque painting, and of transmitted and reflected light, and by contrivances such as screens and shutters, much diversity of scenic effect is produced.
2. A building used for such an exhibition.

Websters Dictionary, 1913
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