"What's happening in Coachella is virtually the same thing that was happening in 1862, " Mr. Steinmeyer said.

WSJ: Tupac Shakur 'Hologram,' Seen at Coachella, May Go on Tour

Mr. Steinmeyer used similar technology to create an illusion in which Frank Sinatra appeared at a 2003 concert.

WSJ: Tupac Shakur 'Hologram,' Seen at Coachella, May Go on Tour

"A piece of glass can be both transparent and reflective at the same time, depending on how it's situated relative to the audience, " said Mr. Steinmeyer, pointing out the secret.

WSJ: Tupac Shakur 'Hologram,' Seen at Coachella, May Go on Tour

The effect was first used in an 1862 dramatization of Charles Dickens' novella "The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, " staged at the Royal Polytechnic Institute in London, according to Jim Steinmeyer, an illusion designer who has written extensively about the history of his craft, including Pepper's Ghost.

WSJ: Tupac Shakur 'Hologram,' Seen at Coachella, May Go on Tour