Accession No

4603

Brief Description

22 magic lantern slides in wooden mounts, showing astronomical and meteorological phenomena, one by Newton, English, c. 1900

Origin

Fleet Street; London (one slide)

Maker

Newton (one slide)

Class

optical; astronomy

Earliest Date

1900

Latest Date

1930

Inscription Date

Material

wood; glass

Dimensions

small ones: length 177mm; breadth 112mm; thickness 10mm large ones: length 201mm; breadth 99mm; thickness 10mm (box length 432mm; breadth 280mm; height 80mm)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased on 03/03/1996.

Inscription

See description notes

Description Notes

22 magic lantern slides in wooden mounts, showing astronomical and meteorological phenomena, one by Newton, English, c. 1900.

7 magic lantern slides from one set and 15 from another

The set of seven are smaller and have one slide on each block. The blocks carry descriptions of the depictions on the slides. These are written directly onto the wood, and some also carry labels with the names.

4603.1 ‘Lightning’
4603.2 ‘Rainbow’
4603.3 ‘Diurnal Motion of Great Bear’
4603.4 ‘Diurnal Motion of Little Bear’
4603.5 ‘Aurora’
4603.6 ‘Photo of moon shewing craters’
4603.7 This one is slightly smaller; it is labelled ‘Mock Suns’ and is also imprinted with the maker’s name: ‘NEWTON 3 FLEET. ST LONDON’

The set of larger slides are numbered. Most of them carry two slides in each block.
4603.8 Numbered 1 and 3 showing angles of measurement and the craters of the moon.
4603.9 Numbered 4, 5 and 6, showing half-moon, new moon and demonstration of the phases of the moon.
4603.10 Numbered 7 and 9, showing sun and phases of Venus (?).
4603.11 Numbered 10 and 11, showing Mars and inner planets of the solar system.
4603.12 Numbered 12 and 13, showing Jupiter and Saturn. This slide is split and in need of conservation.
4603.13 Numbered 14 and 15, showing the moons of Saturn and of Jupiter.
4603.14 Numbered 16 and 17, showing Neptune (other slide is missing).
4603.15 Numbered 18, 19 and 20, showing two comets and a diagram of the solar system. Glass of comet slide is cracked in 3 places.
4603.16 Numbered 23 and 24, showing the orbit of a comet around the sun and a sector of the solar system.
4603.17 Numbered 24 and 25, showing sections of the solar system, 24 badly damaged.
4603.18 Numbered 26 and 27, showing lunar eclipse and solar eclipse mechanisms.
4603.19 Numbered 28; single slide with movable glass for showing solar eclipse.
4603.20 Numbered 29 and 31, showing solar eclipse mechanism and the band of zodiac constellations.
4603.21 Numbered 32 and 33, showing mechanism behind seasons, and the effect of the moon on tides.
4603.22 Numbered 36 and 37, showing Hercules and Ursa Major; split at one edge.

Condition - fair; complete.

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:40349