*The Cheese Mites* (1903) – The Public Domain Review

The circular cutouts used The Cheese Mites and other trick films, which signal a perspective shift from our world to another, bear an uncanny resemblance to another form of entertainment: the peep show, a precursor to movie magic. Nowadays, of course, the peep show is mainly remembered as a medium for pornography. But according to researcher Tony Lidington, it was also “at least 150 years before the innovation of cinema and even several years after the dawn of cinema… the basis of illustrated stories and lectures”. Similar to the ‘trick film’, peep shows used forced perspective to play with scale. In large, wooden boxes that served as miniature theaters, the traveling peep showman could stack cutouts and props on top of each other to create a convincing illusion of depth. For a small fee, viewers would rush to a small peephole for an entirely private spectacle.