Johann Zahn (29 March 1641,

Karlstadt am Main Karlstadt is a town in the Main-Spessart in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of Main-Spessart (''Kreisstadt''), and has a population of around 15,000. Geography ...

– 27 June 1707) was the seventeenth-century

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

author of ''Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium'' (

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, 1685). This work contains many descriptions and diagrams, illustrations and sketches of both the

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

and

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

, along with various other lanterns, slides,

projection Projection, projections or projective may refer to: Physics * Projection (physics), the action/process of light, heat, or sound reflecting from a surface to another in a different direction * The display of images by a projector Optics, graphic ...

types, peepshow boxes, microscopes, telescopes, reflectors, and lenses. As a student of

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

, Zahn is considered the most prolific writer and illustrator of the camera obscura. Zahn was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

monastery of Oberzell near Würzburg (see Kloster Oberzell). The first

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

that was small and portable enough to be practical for

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

(that is, actually capturing the image on some sort of medium) was envisioned by Zahn in 1685, though it would be almost 150 years before technology caught up to the point where this was possible to actually build (see

History of the camera The history of the camera began even before the introduction of photography. Cameras evolved from the camera obscura through many generations of photographic technologydaguerreotypes, calotypes, dry plates, filmto the modern day with digital ca ...

). In ''Oculus Artificialis'', Zahn's comprehensive description of the magic lantern (along with twelve other different lanterns) includes some of these lanterns showing for the first time

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

covers. This was a very important evolution in the history of the camera, because it meant that the screen could be kept dark while the operator changed the slide. Zahn used the magic lantern, whose invention he credited to

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans ...

, for

anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

lectures. He also illustrated a large workshop camera obscura for solar observations using the

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

and scioptric ball. Zahn also includes an illustration of a camera obscura in the shape of a

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

, based on a design described (but not illustrated) by

Pierre Hérigone Pierre Hérigone (Latinized as Petrus Herigonius) (1580–1643) was a French mathematician and astronomer. Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life. Works Only one work by Hérigone is known to exist: ''Cursus mathematicu ...

. Zahn also designed several portable camera obscuras, and made one that was 23 inches long. He demonstrated the use of mirrors and lenses to erect the image, enlarge and focus it. Zahn is also the author of a compendium of mathematics and natural history, titled ''Specula Physico-Mathematico-Historica Notabilium ac Mirabilium Sciendorum'' (1696).

Works

* * * * * *

References

* poep toch hana Ralf Kern: Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in Ihrer Zeit/Streben nach Genauigkeit in Zeit und Raum. Cologne, 2010 * Wolfgang Grassl: Culture of Place. An Intellectual Profile of the Premonstratensian Order. Nordhausen: Bautz, 2012, 325-331

Sources

*Burns, Pau
The History of the Discovery of Cinematography
An Illustrated Chronology

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060318004805/http://www.historyofcuba.com/jas/Articles/prehist.htm Pre-history of Photography (See p. 107.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Johann 1641 births 1707 deaths People from Karlstadt am Main 17th-century German scientists 17th-century German inventors Precursors of photography Premonstratensians German philosophers German non-fiction writers Scientists from Bavaria German male non-fiction writers