author
Henry Charles Horstmann
A practical early-20th-century electrical writer, this author helped explain the fast-changing worlds of theater electrics, motion-picture projection, and everyday electrical work. His books are grounded, hands-on guides that capture a moment when modern entertainment technology was still new.
1 Audiobook
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions A Practical Hand-book and Guide for Theater Electricians, Motion Picture Operators and Managers of Theaters and Productions
by Henry Charles Horstmann, Victor H. (Victor Hugo) Tousley
About the author
Henry Charles Horstmann was an American technical writer and editor associated with practical electrical manuals in the early 1900s. Library and catalog records identify him with a body of work on electrical construction, wiring, testing, illumination, and theater and motion-picture equipment, including Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions and Electricians' Operating and Testing Manual.
His books were written for working electricians, operators, and mechanics rather than for academic readers. That practical focus makes them especially vivid today: they show how electrical systems, projection booths, and stage effects were understood by the people who had to keep them running safely and reliably.
Available records also indicate he was born in 1858 and died in 1927. While detailed biographical information appears to be scarce, his surviving manuals suggest a writer deeply interested in making new electrical technologies usable in everyday professional life.