On this day in 1904 Joseph Menchen was granted the patent for METHOD OF PROJECTING IMITATIONS OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. U.S. Patent No. 770,766.
This invention consists in representing upon screens, stage-settings, and the like an imitation of the aurora borealis by projecting light from any suitable source through means designed to conform the light to the contour of the aurora, to color and flicker it, if desirable, and to make the rays of light wide or narrow, short or long, as they strike the screen.
The object of the invention is to provide a method of this character which may be readily carried out and which while applicable for general amusement or instruction purposes is particularly adaptable to theatrical uses.
