Between the phantasmagoria and the magic lantern there is this
difference: in common magic lanterns the figures are painted on
transparent glass, consequently the image on the screen is a circle of
light having figures upon it; but in the phantasmagoria all the glass
is made opaque, except the figures, which, being painted in transparent
colors, the light shines through them, and no light can come upon the
screen except that which passes through the figure.
There is no sheet to receive the picture, but the representation
is thrown on a thin screen of silk or muslin placed between _the
spectators and the lantern_. The images are made to appear approaching
and receding by removing it further from the screen, or bringing it
nearer to it. This is a great advantage over the ordinary arrangements
of the magic lantern, and by it the most astonishing effects are often
produced.