Telephonoscope

Early videophone-television concept by George du Maurier

A telephonoscope was an early concept of videophone and television, conceptualized in the late 1870s through the 1890s. It was mentioned in various early science fiction works such as Le Vingtième siècle. La vie électrique (The Twentieth Century: The Electrical Life) and other works written by Albert Robida. It was also sketched in various cartoons by George du Maurier as a fictional invention by Thomas Edison including one made on December 9, 1879 in Punch magazine.^[1][2][3]

Robida also forecast the era of television broadcasts, with concept art drawn of a televised opera performance, and of a live battlefield report.

See also

• Telectroscope

References

1. Telephonoscope, A Cartoon of a Television/Videophone Terramedia website;
2. George du Maurier (1878) Punch magazine, December 9th, 1878;
3. R.W. Burns: "Television: An International History", Distant vision (c 1880-1920), p. 78-84;