Imperial visions on tour: cosmoramas, neoramas, and Eurocentrism in Andorfer’s Grand Optical Gallery

This article explores the international journey of the Grand Optical Gallery (1828–1854), operated by Austrian showman Thomas Karl Andorfer, with a particular focus on the unique combination of optical attractions it offered, including cosmoramas, neoramas, dioramas, and a new solar microscope. It investigates the Eurocentric perspective embedded in Andorfer’s exhibitions and the cultural impact of these shows, especially in Brazil, his first overseas destination. Drawing on historical press records, the article traces Andorfer’s itinerary from the early fairs in Italy, where he showcased his Grand Cosmorama, through the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil, culminating on Broadway, where the Grand Optical Gallery was met with acclaim. In Brazil, Eurocentrism became especially pronounced as local audiences began to demand specific iconographic adjustments to the exhibitions. This article argues that, much like panoramas, cosmoramas were entangled with imperialist discourses from their inception, fostering an imperially oriented worldview among spectators. This mindset is starkly illustrated in Brazilian newspapers, where advertisements for cosmorama shows appeared alongside slave sale notices, revealing how such spectacles were embedded in broader colonial economies. By situating cosmoramas within this context, the article analyses how they functioned as cultural commodities that reinforced colonial identities and shaped their viewers’ cultural imagination. Finally, it considers the extent to which the cosmorama, as a global phenomenon, was influenced by and responsive to local cultural contexts.