Enthüllte Zauberkünste - Die Geister thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Enthüllte Zauberkünste - Die Geister

Trade Card
1894 (Printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is one of a set of beautifully illustrated chromolithographic trade cards produced in Antwerp by Liebig Company to advertise their meat extract products such as meat paste and stock cubes, invented by the German chemist Justus von Liebig (1803-1873). In partnership with the Belgian engineer George Christian Giebert Liebig's Extract of Meat Company started production of the extract in 1865 in Fray Bentos, Uruguay and Colón, Panama, and around 1870 started to publish series of coloured lithographic cards that continued until 1975 when they had produced more than 11,000 different cards in sets of six or twelve.

This card is one of the Magic Revealed set produced in 1894. It illustrates and explains The Ghost illusion of a man confronted by a ghost in front of him, with an image (recto) of an actor in ghost costume beneath the stage, brightly lit and reflected onto stage, watched by a seated lady, and a written explanation of the trick (verso) titled Die Geister. The trick was invented in 1858 by the English engineer Henry Dircks (1806-1873) but popularised in 1862 by the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821-1900) after whom the trick was called Pepper's Ghost.





Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleEnthüllte Zauberkünste - Die Geister (published title)
Materials and techniques
Printing ink on card
Brief description
Trade card advertising Liebig's meat extract illustrated with the Die Geisteract. Colour lithograph published by Liebig as part of its Magic Revealed set, Antwerp 1894
Physical description
Advertising trade card for the Liebig Company illustrated with an image of The Ghost trick, and in vignettes a pot of the meat extract and an image of the trick with its apparatus (recto), and printed in black and red ink (verso) with details of the product and a written explanation of the trick called Die Geister, and a reproduction in blue ink of the signature of the product's inventor J. Liebig.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.1cm (Note: maximum height)
  • Width: 11.1cm (Note: maximum width)
Object history
This is one of a series of trade cards printed by Liebig from around 1870 to 1875 to advertise their meat extract products, which later included Fray Bentos corned beef and the Oxo cube.
Association
Summary
This is one of a set of beautifully illustrated chromolithographic trade cards produced in Antwerp by Liebig Company to advertise their meat extract products such as meat paste and stock cubes, invented by the German chemist Justus von Liebig (1803-1873). In partnership with the Belgian engineer George Christian Giebert Liebig's Extract of Meat Company started production of the extract in 1865 in Fray Bentos, Uruguay and Colón, Panama, and around 1870 started to publish series of coloured lithographic cards that continued until 1975 when they had produced more than 11,000 different cards in sets of six or twelve.

This card is one of the Magic Revealed set produced in 1894. It illustrates and explains The Ghost illusion of a man confronted by a ghost in front of him, with an image (recto) of an actor in ghost costume beneath the stage, brightly lit and reflected onto stage, watched by a seated lady, and a written explanation of the trick (verso) titled Die Geister. The trick was invented in 1858 by the English engineer Henry Dircks (1806-1873) but popularised in 1862 by the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821-1900) after whom the trick was called Pepper's Ghost.



Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.565-2018

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdOctober 22, 2018
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest