Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS

From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place

- Ellie Tennant

In Paris, 1822, a group of excited guests gathered together in a dark building to witness a cutting-edge immersive theatrical experience, the like of which had never been seen before. French artists Charles-Marie Bouton (1781-1853) and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851) were the brains behind this astounding new spectacle, known as The Diorama.

Captivated audiences viewed enormous hand-painted linen scenes (the proscenium was 7.3m wide and 6.4m high) conjuring up dramatic vistas such as "The Holyrood Chapel' and 'The Ruins in a Fog'. Multi-layered, cleverly illuminated and enhanced by sound effects and music, the scene would appear to shift and change, depending on the direction and intensity of artfully manipulated lighting. Revolving turntable floors meant that viewers could see more than one scene.

It was an instant hit. A second Diorama theatre opened in 1823 in Regent's Park, London, and similar shows soon appeared in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Dublin. The Victorian passion for all things Gothic and Romantic was in full swing. Thanks to the majesty and magic of these innovative events, the seeds had been sown for a further-reaching trend for making 'dioramas' small-scale replicas of scenes using three-dimensional objects and painted backgrounds.