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

The circular cutaways employed in The Cheese Mites and other trick films, signaling a perspectival shift from our world to another, bear an uncanny resemblance to another form of entertainment: the peepshow, a predecessor of movie magic. Today, of course, the peepshow is remembered mostly as a medium for pornography. But according to researcher Tony Lidington, it was also, “for at least 150 years prior to the innovation of the bioscope and indeed, for some years after the beginnings of cinema . . . the basis of illustrated storytelling and lecturing”. Similar to the “trick film”, peepshows used forced perspective to play with scale. Within large, wooden crates serving as miniaturized theaters, the itinerant peepshowman could layer cutouts and props to create a convincing illusion of depth. For a small fee, viewers craned toward a tiny viewing hole for a wholly private spectacle.