The Magic of the Magic Lantern
By Jack Judson
Single British lantern slide projector, 1890s.
First, what is not a magic lantern? It is not the boat-shaped lamp using
oil and frequently and erroneously referred to as a magic lantern. Such
incorrect references are usually simply a mistake in terminology.
Such items are really lamps, and not lanterns, and those lamps are often
thought of as something you rub, and “Jeannie” or a genie pops
out to do your bidding.
It might be wonderful, indeed, if some “Jeannie” or genie would
pop out of a magic lantern, and certainly this collector has rubbed all
his collection of magic lanterns with nothing but a projected image coming
out anywhere but from the lens. In fact, a magic lantern is, in the simplest
terms, the earliest form of slide projector. It must have a light source
inside some sort of container, a place to insert a slide, and a lens out
front to project the image from the slide. So, hopefully, we are now through
the definitions and have dispelled the incorrect descriptions and images.
The magic lantern, or linterna magica, lantern magique, tooverlantern,
or zauberlanterne in any language is an early slide projector which used
an oil burner (lamp), sometimes (rarely) a candle, and later increasingly
sophisticated light sources, as gas light, limelight, and light from electrical
sources, such as the electric arc light, and then the electric light bulb.
Riley Bros. Biunnial British 1890s.
The earliest published mention of the magic lantern was contained in a
scholarly work by a German Jesuit priest in Rome, Athanasius Kircher,
who described it in the 1640s volume entitled Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae
or The Art of Light and Shadow. The first edition did not contain an image
of what Kircher described. But a later edition did have an image, which
continues to be the subject of extensive discussion. The woodcut image
shows the slide in right side up, and the projected image likewise, which
even to this day with all of our modern technology does not work. In addition
the projecting lens is shown behind the slide, and that again seems an
unlikely workable arrangement.
Kircher, as well as Walgenstein from the North Countries, Huygens of Holland,
and others are variously credited with the invention of the magic lantern,
and this is not so unusual since many discoveries in history are variously
credited, sometimes along nationalistic lines. Nonetheless, it is well
established that the magic lantern or slide projector existed for some
time prior to the 1640s, with some evidence of a much earlier date for
its first appearance in the world of technology.
Most of our early information about magic lanterns comes from various
writings in the 1700s, when itinerant showmen traveled about Europe with
such devices and some slides, all of which were hand-made. Images were
projected onto light colored walls or light colored cloth hangings, and
stories were told about what the images depicted. Fairy tales, folk tales,
historical images, all hand- painted on glass, were the usual fare. Sometimes
a hurdy gurdy or other musical instrument was played in accompaniment.
Naturally, such performances were quite magical to people who, for the
most part at that time, did not have sufficient education to really understand
how pictures could magically come out of what had been just a lantern,
simply giving out light to see by.
Atlas Joy Magic Lantern w/circular slide. 1880 Germany.
Jean Schoenner.
Some lanternists would also rent a hall, auditorium or space to have shows
for an entrance fee. These seem to have been popular entertainments and/or
lectures, and were so reported in the press of the day.
The earliest published notice in America, so far as is known, is one that
appeared in the Boston Evening Post, December 3, 1743. It read: “To
be shewn by John Dabney, mathematical instrument maker in Milk Street,
Boston, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from five to eight o’clock
for the entertainment of the curious, the magic lanthorn, an optick machine,
which exhibits a great number of wonderful and surprising figures, prodigious
large and vivid, at half crown each, old tenor.” This seems to be
all we know about the show, but it sounded fascinating, and certainly
so to the folks of that time.
From that time here in the colonies, and later throughout the world, such
devices and their images became more and more popular as a mass visual
delight. In particular it developed impetus when more and more people
realized the opportunities for profit and for education.
Accordingly, by the early 1800s and throughout the rest of that century,
especially due to the advent of more manufacturing facilities and then
photography in the late 1830s, magic lantern production swelled to a very
large industry in Europe and in America. Even in the closed country of
Japan, it is said that the Dutch brought the magic lantern, furo, to Japan
in the 1600s. Production there was not, of course, as large as America’s
or Europe’s but developed roughly parallel to the other nations.
The British produced many beautifully crafted and optically sophisticated
magic lanterns of mahogany and brass and a few toy magic lanterns. Germany
is best known for producing a wonderful variety of children’s toy
magic lanterns. Most seem to have been manufactured in Nuremburg, by one
of several makers. The most commonly known of these are; Ernst Planck
(E.P.), Johannes Falk (J.F.), Max Dannhorn (M.D.), Jean Schoenner (J.S.),
Georg Carette (G.C. Co. N) and Gebruder Bing (GBN). If marked at all,
the initials are what are generally found on the toy lanterns.
Some of the children’s toy magic lanterns were really quite ornate
or fanciful, even figural. Some had the shape of a small factory building,
a pagoda, a race car, a bust of a Chinaman, or even the Eiffel Tower,
though the latter two at least have been attributed to another maker,
Aubert. These unusual forms, and those with porcelain features and/or
highly decorated ones, are eagerly sought after by collectors. Most such
toys were lighted by tiny oil lamps inside them.
Lampascope.
The larger, more complex magic lanterns produced largely in the mid to
late 1800s were used mostly by professional showmen, universities, churches,
scientific societies and lecturers giving travelogues with photographic
glass slides. There were many British makers of such devices, such as
Hughes, Riley Brothers, J.H. Steward, the Darkers, Watson, and, of course,
the very large and long-lived Ross. These are the most well-known producers
of wonderfully attractive, well-made and functional lantern slide projectors,
as they had by that time become known. Though many were of the wood and
brass variety, there were also cheaper, light-weight models made of what
was commonly known as Russian iron, or blued steel, and sometimes finished
by Japanning (painting), mostly in basic black. Some smaller versions
were made for children as well.
Some of the magic lanterns were equipped with more than one lens out front,
two and sometimes three. Some people have considered more than one lens
to indicate that the machine was for stereo or 3D projection. This is
not the case. Two or three lenses arranged either vertically, or horizontally
in some cases, simply allowed the projectionist to “dissolve”
from one image to another without going to total darkness or a flash of
light between slides. It also allowed for “special effects,”
such as changing a view from day to night or summer to winter or to add
an angel to a scene of someone dying, or a star or moon to rise in the
night sky.
Some beautiful toy magic lanterns were produced in France by the makers
Carree and Lapiere. Companies such as Molteni and Mazo made a wide variety
of mostly metal construction, with some well designed for scientific projection,
such as for microscope slides. There are few surviving examples from other
European countries, though some are known to be from Switzerland.
For the most part, magic lanterns in America were metal, occassionally
with some wooden parts such as lens boards. There were several well-known
makers in America as well, such as A.T. Thompson of Boston, J.W. Queen,
Marcy and McAllister of Philadelphia and New York. McIntosh in Chicago
made several interestingly designed lantern slide projectors. However,
there were many other makers coast to coast, and in somewhat later years,
Bausch and Lomb, Spencer Optical, and even Eastman Kodak after the turn
of the 20th century turned out some functional basic black models. Oddly,
Charles Beseler Co., in business from the 1800s, produced lantern slide
projectors into the 1980s.
Thus magic lanterns/lanternslide projectors were widely used throughout
the world, for many of the purposes already mentioned, but additionally
as teaching devices, scientific demonstration devices and even in the
activities of what were then known as secret societies or lodges. Churches
used them to project the words of hymns for the congregation, and during
the Franco Prussian War in the 1870s, Microdot messages were flown into
Paris via pigeons, or balloons, and the tiny images were projected by
a scientific style magic lantern using a projecting microscope front.
Many many illustrations used with magic lanterns appeared in books and
periodicals of all sorts in America and in Europe.
By Carl Muller, Vienna, c. 1885.
Collecting magic lanterns has become quite a passion, and more than a
hobby to some. Collectors vary from those with a passing interest only,
to folks who collect only some types; while some collectors garner all
related materials, both the projectors themselves, and also accessories,
illustrations, prints, slides, catalogs and figurines of porcelain and
bronze depicting magic lanterns, or magic lanternists.
Of course, there are the projectors to collect, and there is a very wide
variety over many time periods to collect. The older the time period,
the harder. This is particularly true in Europe, since several wars have
decimated the stock to collect. Indeed, good examples are becoming more
difficult to find every year. This is especially true of the most rare,
which are usually the German or French figural or highly embossed or decorated
metal types, such as one that has the shape of the Eiffel Tower, a bust
of a Chinaman, a small race car, or those made of porcelain. Many collectors
specialize in children’s toy magic lanterns. Certainly they are pretty
things and small, so the collector does not have to add onto his or her
home or build a museum to hold a collection.
The glass slides are also very important collectibles in the magic lantern
related collectibles.
First there are the children’s toy magic lantern slides. The most
commonly found are those made in Germany, and frequently are rectangular
strips of glass of many sizes, with blue, green, red, orange, pink or
yellow paper edging glued on them so as not to cut children’s busy
hands. Most slides of this type are not hand-painted as is frequently
thought, but rather are transfers or decals stuck onto the glass strips.
This is not to say that there were not, and are not today, surviving children’s
glass slides that are hand- painted. There are just fewer of them. Most
such children’s slides of the strip type seem to come from Germany
and France. One can examine a slide and know by the look of the image
what kind it is. In the case of the transfers, the image is often scratched
or crazed, though it is certainly possible to scratch a painted slide
as well.
This type of transfer slide was produced in the many thousands over a
period from the mid-1800s to the 1920s or so, and shipped all over the
world. Hundreds, if not thousands, exist all over the United States today
and were no doubt imports. Unless they are in mint or perfect condition
and in a set, they are somewhat less collectible than some to be later
described. However, the strip transfer slides are often quite charming
and fanciful.
Electric arc lodge lantern. Pettibone Bros., Ohio.
Then come the larger rectangular glass slides. If they are 3.25 by 4 inches,
they are generally thought of as American size. If they are 3.25 inches
square, then they are known as the British size. However, both sizes seem
to have been produced in countries other than the United States and England.
Most of these two sizes of slides consist of two sheets of glass, one
of which has the image on one side of it and the other which covers the
image, and bound all around by a black paper tape. Some tape colors varied,
sometimes as a result of a repair.
Such slides were produced by black and white photography, and remain that
way on many. If they are colored, it was necessary to hand color them,
since for all practical purposes, color photography was not widely available
during the peak production of this type slide. There were some French
and other attempts to make colored photographic lantern slides with starch
grains, but they did not survive in large numbers, and had a tendency
to be somewhat fragile.
Additionally, many popular slides produced in Britain were also transfer
slides of children’s fairy or folk tales, such as Alice in Wonderland,
John Gilpin’s Ride, Cinderella and so on. They were sold in boxed
sets of eight to 12 or more, and covered more subjects than mentioned
before. Such sets also came with what is referred to as a reading, or
script describing the story slide by slide. Many of the readings are today
lost.
There are many French slides which were of the transfer type, and some
hand-painted ones as well. They seem to mostly have a green paper edging,
and usually illustrate a fairy tale, such as Cinderella, or a folk tale.
They frequently have some wording telling the story on one end of the
slide.
The American sized slides were produced in the hundreds of thousands,
and covered just about every imaginable subject, Yes, some were even X-rated!
Some American slides were called lightweight with only one piece of glass
with a cover glass and framed in a light cardboard. They are, of course,
more fragile and prone to scratching or other damage.
The most prolific producers of slides in America included the Keystone
Company, Underwood and Underwood, McIntosh, McAllister, the Detroit Publishing
Company, and the list goes on. Many of the slides produced by these companies
were of the educational or travel type and came mostly in black and white.
The very prolific Keystone Company produced the slides with accompanying
oak cabinets in sets of 600 and 1,200 for schools and libraries. Some
sets came also with additional cabinature for holding sets of stereoview
cards, a hand-held viewer, and a lantern slide projector as well. Many
slides were simply one half of a stereo pair. The Detroit Publishing Company
turned out many such items, including some by the famous photographer
W.H. Jackson.
Some lecturers like Jackson were also photographers, and among them were
the well known John Stoddard and Burton Holmes, both famous for lantern
slide illustrated travelogue lectures.
Many businesses and show people used the magic lantern for advertising.
Among those are such diverse types as the Santa Fe Railroad, the Holland
America Line, P.T. Barnum and, of course, the early motion picture producers
who advertised soon to be shown movies and local advertisements. This
latter type of “coming attractions” slides has recently become
a very hot collecting area; some bring hundreds of dollars.
Many religious slides were produced, and two particular sets were very
popular but are not found too easily today. One set is of the popular
story “In His Steps,” and the other “The Photo History
of Creation.”
Single lantern slide projector. McIntosh Chicago, 1890s.
But some of the most desirable slides for the serious magic lantern, or
lantern slide, collector are those in wooden frames. These come in all
sorts of sizes and configurations and are most often not marked by the
maker. The most common of this type measures approximately 4” by
7”, and about 3/8” thick. There is generally one 3 to 3.25”
circular glass image centered in the dimensions given. These slides are,
if not handpainted entirely, at least hand tinted on a black and white
positive photograph. Most came in sets illustrating some story of patriotic,
religious or lodge content. Some were also scientific in nature. Many
were sold in sets of varying numbers to the set. This appears true according
to extant sets and numbers on them, plus references in catalogs of the
time.
Next in the hierarchy of importance to collectors of the genre are those
wood mounted glass slides that have various fixed and moving pieces of
glass, with some painting on each. These vary widely in type and subject,
many of a humorous nature or providing some primitive motion. The simplest
are what are called slip slides, or sliders. They have one fixed painted
image, and one or two slip glasses that move in and out of the horizontal
axis of the frame. There is also a slip slide that not only has one fixed
and/or one slipping piece, but also has another piece of glass that has
a lever that moves that piece up and down, all of which give different
motions to the figures painted on them.
Additionally, there are some slides known as rackwork or rotary wood mounted
slides. These usually have one fixed and one moving circular piece of
glass with an image painted on each, with tiny brass gear teeth around
the edges rotated by a pinion gear from a crank on the end of the slide.
Again there are more complex slides, with the crank/rotary and a lever
or slipping piece as well. Some wooden slides are up to three feet long
and have panoramic views which are passed through the slide opening in
the magic lantern, with a story to go along with the images. Some of these
have one fixed image and one long piece of glass that slides across, showing
for example a fixed picture of the pyramids, with the sliding piece having
a caravan painted on it. The caravan appears to pass in front of the pyramids
as the moveable glass is drawn across the fixed image. These are very
desirable for the serious collector.
There are also wood mounted slides showing scientific illustrations, some
fixed, and some in sets with moving parts to show the motions of the solar
system and various other celestial phenomena. One problem involving these
slides is that many are a proprietary size, and not all fit all magic
lanterns. This is particularly true of the children’s slides. Of
course, condition of the slides is critical to collectability and value.
Peeling paint, split wood, cracked or broken glass, missing parts, corrosion,
bent or damaged metal parts and malfunctioning units all detract. Certainly
the same criteria apply to the magic lanterns themselves.
Very desirable are prints showing the magic lantern in use, catalogs of
magic lantern makers or purveyors, and instruction manuals. Illustrations
and books dealing with the magic lantern are also sought after by the
serious collector.
Thus, there is a wide variety of items to be collected in the wonderful
magic lantern field. The magic lantern is certainly the father of motion
pictures, and the grandfather of television.
Further information can be obtained by accessing www.magiclanterns.org,
and much can be learned by joining the magic lantern society of the United
States and Canada at www.magiclanternsociety.org.
The author is the past president of the Magic Lantern Society and is the
owner of the Magic Lantern Castle Museum, which is a member of both the
American and Texas Associations of Museums.
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