Accession No
6513
Brief Description
Two boxes of zoological magic lantern slides, mostly equine (horses) anatomy, with some showing farriers at work, English, mid 20th century.
Origin
London; England
Maker
Newton & Co. (only some)
Class
optical; biology; physiology; zoology
Earliest Date
1925
Latest Date
1975
Inscription Date
Material
wood (mahogany?; pine?); glass; paper; metal (brass)
Dimensions
6513.1 - Box = 380mm long x 110mm deep x 105mm tall 6513.2 - Box = 285mm long x 105mm deep x 105mm tall
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated by an individual on or before 08/07/2011.
Inscription
Description Notes
Two boxes of zoological magic lantern slides, mostly equine (horses) anatomy, with some showing farriers at work, English, mid 20th century.
6513.1 = mahogany(?) box with sliding lid. Contains 73 80mm x 80mm paper-edged glass magic lantern slides. Some are numbered, and some have makers labels (e.g. “Painted by Newton & Co. 3 Fleet St. London”). Others appear to be hand-made from glass photographic negatives. Most slides illustrate various aspects of equine anatomy, including colour paintings and B&W drawings on glass, as well as B&W photographs. Also in box are 34 hand-made glass slides, of various non-standard sizes, showing more aspects of equine anatomy. Some appear to have been hand-painted directly onto the glass. With these slides is a manuscript paper note that reads: “Lawrence E. Pullen Animal physiology slides reboxed @ 8/3/08” (see OHF). Also in the box are 5 small (approx. 100mm x 65mm) paper-on-white-card illustrations of equine anatomy. Printed, with greaseproof paper cover slips. They are entitled: “Appearance of Cankers”; “Windgalls”; “Hoof Formation, the Result of Laminitis”; “A Well Defined Cure”; [last card untitled].
6513.2 = pine(?) box with removable lid attached by three brass hooks and loops. Contains 41 80mm x 80mm paper-edged glass magic lantern slides. Some are numbered, and some have makers labels (e.g. “Painted by Newton & Co. 3 Fleet St. London”). Others appear to be hand-made from glass photographic negatives. Most slides illustrate various aspects of equine anatomy, including colour paintings and B&W drawings on glass, as well as B&W photographs. Also in box are 3 hand-made glass slides, of various non-standard sizes, showing more aspects of equine anatomy. They appear to negative copies of illustrations from textbooks. Also in the box are 5 small (various sizes) paper-on-white-card illustrations of equine anatomy. Printed, with greaseproof paper cover slips. They are entitled: “External Appearance of Quitto[??]”; “Sandcrack”; “A Capped Hock”; “Seedy Toe”; [last card untitled].
Condition: Good/Fair, complete. Some slides show wear and some have scratches.
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:47022
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