The first moving pictures to be shown to the public were presented to an audience in Paris in 1895 by M. Lumiere. Showmen were among the first to realise the
entertainement potential of 'movies' and were soon showing black and white silent films in improvised tents and booths. Quickly these developed into the magnificent bioscope shows of the turn of the century which
had some of the most glorious baroque carved fronts and the largest fairground organs ever seen.
Alas, none of these masterpieces survive complete and Hollycombe has reconstructed a bioscope, but with an original bioscope organ. This is one of only two working bioscopes in the world.
The organ, a Marenghi Peacock 98 key organ, is one of the finest built by Marenghi, who is considered by many to have made the finest organs of all.
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