Johann Zahn
Johann Zahn (29 March 1641, Karlstadt am Main – 27 June 1707) was the seventeenth-century German author of Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium (Würzburg, 1685). This work contains many descriptions and diagrams, illustrations and sketches of both the camera obscura and magic lantern, along with various other lanterns, slides, projection types, peepshow boxes, microscopes, telescopes, reflectors, and lenses. The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography (that is, actually capturing the image on some sort of medium) was envisioned by Zahn in 1685, though it would be almost 150 years before technology caught up to the point where this was possible to actually build (see History of the camera).
Also recorded as Ioanne Zahn
Johann Zahn
Zahn, Johann. Oculus artificialis teledioptricus sive Telescopium: ex abditis rerum naturalium artificialium principiis protractum novâ methodo, eâque solidâ explicatum ac comprimis è triplici fundam · Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine. Images from the History of Medicine (IHM), http: Also showcased in the book: Hidden Treasure (New York, NY: Blast Books · Public domain
- Born
- Johann Zahn was born in 1641.
- Died
- Johann Zahn died in 1707.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- mathematician · philosopher · university teacher · cartographer · theologian · optical engineer · naturalist
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Johann Zahn. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q71105 · wikipedia · Johann Zahn
In this article
Works
In Oculus Artificialis, Zahn's comprehensive description of the magic lantern (along with twelve other different lanterns) includes some of these lanterns showing for the first time lens covers. This was a very important evolution in the history of the camera, because it meant that the screen could be kept dark while the operator changed the slide. Zahn used the magic lantern, whose invention he credited to Athanasius Kircher, for anatomical lectures. He also illustrated a large workshop camera obscura for solar observations using the telescope and scioptric ball. Zahn also includes an illustration of a camera obscura in the shape of a goblet, based on a design described (but not illustrated) by Pierre Hérigone. Zahn also designed several portable camera obscuras, and made one that was 23 inches long. He demonstrated the use of mirrors and lenses to erect the image, enlarge and focus it. Zahn is also the author of a compendium of mathematics and natural history, titled Specula Physico-Mathematico-Historica Notabilium ac Mirabilium Sciendorum (3025) Religions-Hindu
• Illustration — Oculus artificialis teledioptricus, 1685 * * * * * *
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q71105: Johann Zahn
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Johann Zahn”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Johann Zahn, revision 1352581535 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Born at
1- Karlstadt am MainPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Maps and atlases
1,180 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Johann Jakob ScheuchzerAuthor
- Johann Matthias HaseAuthor
- Johann Tobias MayerAuthor
- Johann Weikhard von ValvasorAuthor
- Johannes AventinusAuthor
- Johannes CorputiusAuthor
- Johannes HeveliusAuthor
- Johannes HonterAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Johann Zahn?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.