*Visions of Electric Media* is an historical examination into the early history of television, as it was understood during the Victorian and Machine ages. How did the television that we use today develop into a functional technology? What did Victorians expect it to become? How did the 'vision' of television change once viewers could actually see pictures on a screen? We will journey through the history of 'television': from the first indications of live communications in technology and culture in the late nineteenth century, to the development of electronic televisual systems in the early twentieth century. Along the way, we will investigate the philosophy, folklore, engineering practices, and satires that went into making television a useful medium.

[Ivy Roberts](https://ivyroseroberts.wordpress.com/) is an interdisciplinary film/media studies scholar who researches in the fields of cultural history, visual culture, and STS. She holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth’s interdisciplinary program in Media, Art, and Text.

Introduction: The Lifespan of a Media TechnologyThe Telephonoscope: How a Satire of Electric Light became a Visual TelephoneThe Far-Sight Machine and the Kinetograph: How Television Brought Liveness to the CinemaHuman Seeing-Machines: From Annihilating Space to Mediated VisionInterludeThe Illuminating Engineers: Standardizing VisionThe Ikonophone: Bell Laboratory's Two-Way Television ProjectEpilogueBibliographyIndex