Charles Musser is Professor of American Studies and Film and Media Studies at Yale University. He is the author of The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907 and producer of the documentary Errol Morris: A Lightning Sketch.

"Informative... straight-forward, impressively researched, and full of original insight." Bookforum

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Stereopticon, The Tariff Illustrated, and the 1892 Election Political Oratory, Partisan Pageantry, and the Public Sphere Judge Wheeler, The Tariff Illustrated, and the 1888 Presidential Election A Tale of Two Screens: The Democratic Party's Use of the Stereopticon in 1888 The Stereopticon and the 1892 Election Watching the Election Returns 2. The Stereopticon: Platform or New Media Form? A Lexicon of the Screen From Magic Lantern to Stereopticon: A Brief History The Stereopticon and Presidential Politics, 1872-1884 3. Cinema, McKinley at Home, and the 1896 Election The Nation's Media Formation The Stereopticon and Illustrated Lecture in the 1896 Campaign The American Mutoscope Company and the McKinley Campaign Campaign-Related Films at the Edison Manufacturing Company Phonograph/Telephone/Bicycle A Celebration of Novelty and Tradition, Spectacle and Power Watching the Election Returns An Assessment 4. Cinema as a Media Form When Did Cinema Become Cinema? Politicking and the Media After the 1896 Presidential Campaign The Illustrated Lecture, Imperialism, and the Elections of 1898 and 1900 5. Coda Electoral Politics and the Media From Early Cinema to Media Archaeology? Appendix: Referenced Documents Abbreviations for Frequently Cited Newspapers Notes Bibliography Index