Accession No
2638
Brief Description
21 magic lantern slides, some animated, mostly story scenes, some by Carpenter and Westley, some by Newton and Company, English, 1900 (c)
Origin
England; London
Maker
Carpenter and Westley Newton and Company
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1900
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wood; glass
Dimensions
overall length 220mm; breadth 100mm; height 141mm one further slide length 178mm; breadth 98mm; thickness 12mm nine further slides, overall length 249mm; breadth 134mm; height 109mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated by Robert S. Whipple in 04/1952. Fourteen slides with moving segments purchased from Dr. R.S. Clay in 04/1952.
Inscription
‘NEWTON & Co
OPTICIANS
2 FLEET ST LONDON’ (one of the slides)
‘Carpenter & Westley
24 Regent Street
LONDON’ (several slides)
Description Notes
21 lantern slides, some by Carpenter & Westley, some by Newton & Co, c.1900.
Mixed set of slides, hand-painted, all with moving parts.
.1 kaleidoscope, star pattern (animated, with handle)
.2 kaleidoscope with small circles (animated, with handle)
.3 kaleidoscope, circular pattern (animated, with handle) (red string detached)
.4 smoke effects for Vesuvius (animated, with handle)
.5 smoke effects for Vesuvius (animated, with handle)
.6 boat scene with cliffs (animated, with handle)
.7 steam ship on water (animated, with handle) - glass broken
.8 three ships at anchor (animated) - glass and clasp broken
.9 three ships at anchor (animated)
[Ones listed below are perhaps the original Wh.1131 based on Wh.1131 description]
.10 skipping child (animated, with lever)
.11 cat and dog (animated)
.12 woman spanking child (animated)
.13 acrobats leapfrogging (animated)
.14 The Needles, Isle of Wight (animated)
.15 tube player (animated)
.16 Effect for Melrose (animated, with lever) - animation not working
.17 Hark! D'ye hear a mouse (animated)
.18 Chair acrobat (animated)
.19 Dancing clown (animated)
Unknown two 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:44240
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