Roderick Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 In the local rag this morning: ‘‘In a recent episode of Foyle’s War on ABC-TV, set in World War II, a scene in a hall clearly shows a mirror-ball hanging from the ceiling. While the mirror-ball is the icon of the disco era, when did they first appear?’’ Does anyone know?And details? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartleyni Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 According to Wikipedia, the 1920s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_ball http://www.discoball.info/ I would have thought Mirror Ball would be a more common name to refer to them as rather than Disco ball, or is that a US / regional thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody74 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 From a States perspective, I usually hear people outside of "the industry" refer to it as a disco ball, and those inside as a mirror ball or mirrored ball. -w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 If one uses the term " mirror ball" everyone knows what is being refered to.However the term "disco ball" may mean different things to different people, it can mean a mirror ball, or it can mean a sphereical light fitting containing a halogen lamp, and with a number of coloured plastic lenses set in the sphere. The sphere is rotated thus casting moving spots of coloured light.Popular low end disco effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartleyni Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 However the term "disco ball" may mean different things to different people, it can mean a mirror ball, or it can mean a sphereical light fitting containing a halogen lamp, and with a number of coloured plastic lenses set in the sphere. The sphere is rotated thus casting moving spots of coloured light.Popular low end disco effect. Yeah, if someone said "disco ball" I would immediatley think they were refering to the low end disco effect you describe above. Ok, so maybe its more of an outside of the industry thing then a regional thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 While the mirror-ball is the icon of the disco era...I would have said more iconic of Mecca Ballrooms. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingwalker Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I actually semi own a rotating mirror effect which pre-dates the mirror ball shape that we all know and love today. It comes from around the 1890's / 1900's and consists of a suspended lamp in the middle with a series of 4 inch square mirrors in a ring at different agles around the outside of it. The mirror ring framework is connected to a motor which revolves around the lamp. Last time I had a look at it I think the size of the framework was about two and a half feet across with the whole structure around 18 inches from top to bottom. If memory serves me right I think the metal was made of brass but I could be wrong. David. A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. I actually semi own a rotating mirror effect which pre-dates the mirror ball shape that we all know and love today. It comes from around the 1890's / 1900's and consists of a suspended lamp in the middle with a series of 4 inch square mirrors in a ring at different agles around the outside of it. The mirror ring framework is connected to a motor which revolves around the lamp. Last time I had a look at it I think the size of the framework was about two and a half feet across with the whole structure around 18 inches from top to bottom. If memory serves me right I think the metal was made of brass but I could be wrong. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I was told, and it has stuck with me, that one of the first clear uses of the defined 'mirror ball' was in the film Casablanca (1942). It was only until a couple of decades later that the mirror ball was adopted as the main lighting effect on dancefloors. Can't beat the classic mirror ball though - the icon of any dancefloor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderick Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Thank you all for the responses! I would love to see a picture of Wingwalkers' contraption (hint!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingwalker Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Currently I believe its sitting with Jim Laws and is part of a collection of over 600 lanterns and around 350 boards and dimmers from around 1903 to the mid 1990's. I've not seen it for a while as with all the other kit (very long story) but one day I'll play with it all again. I do have photographs of all the stock as it was all catalogued and put into an inventory which I thnk was about 6 folders thick. All the files are at my parents place so if I remember the next time I'm there I'll try and dig it all out and send a scanned image across. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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