Accession No
0690
Brief Description
13 magic lantern slides, showing history, astronomy, story scenes, by Carpenter and Westley, English, 1900 (c)
Origin
England; London; 24 Regent Street
Maker
Carpenter and Westley
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1900
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wood; glass
Dimensions
group of 8: overall length 226mm; breadth 100mm; thickness 99mm group of 3: overall length 250mm; breadth 95mm; thickness 45mm group of 2: overall length 260mm; breadth 99mm; thickness 62mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple Collection
Provenance
Purchased from T.H. Court on 05/01/1933.
Inscription
‘CARPENTER & WESTLEY
24 REGENT STREET
LONDON’ (most of the sldies)
Description Notes
Mixed set of slides.
.1 = Queen Victoria
.2 = Prince Albert
.3 = ‘Steamer for Rolling Sea’ (animated)
.4 = ‘chromotropes’ or ‘Artificial Fireworks’, no.24 (animated, with handle, string missing)
.5 = chromotropes’ or ‘Artificial Fireworks’, no.37 (animated, with handle, doesn't animate)
.6 = cat with hackles rising (animated, with lever)
.7 = ‘showing the diurnal motion of the Earth’ (animated, with handle)
.8 = ‘diagram to show the earth’s rotundity’ (animated, with handle)
.9 = kaleidoscope in floral pattern (animated, with handle)
.10 = kaleidoscope in star pattern (animated, with handle)
.11 = kaleidoscope in geometric pattern (animated, with handle)
.12 = kaleidoscope with trapeze artist (animated, with handle)
.13 = unknown, missing
References
Events
Description
Magic lanterns are an early type of image projector. They use a powerful light source to project images onto a screen or wall. They were the precursors to modern slide, overhead and motion picture projectors. Although first developed in the 17th century, it was in the late 18th and 19th centuries that the design of the instrument became developed enough to make magic lantern shows a popular form of general entertainment and scientific and artistic education.
The basic elements of a magic lantern are a metal or wooden body, a light source, a condensing lens, a focusing lens, and interchangeable slides that were commonly produced in sets. Early lantern slides were hand painted on glass, but by the late nineteenth century a number of companies were mass producing slide sets utilising photographic transparencies. Hand cranked mechanisms were sometimes also built into the slides to produce elaborate animated effects. Slide sets might show recent events, exotic locations from around the world, or illustrate tales and fables. For scientific lecturers, the magic lantern was an invaluable instrument for illustrating their public talks, enabling the projection of spectacular astronomical images or massive diagrams of plants and animals.
03/04/2014
Created by: Joshua Nall on 03/04/2014
FM:44239
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