Magic Lantern Shows
To view Magic Lantern type animation click here
The origin of the magic lantern is shrouded in mystery and its early use is the subject of controversy and debate. It is sometimes claims that the ancient Egyptians employed a form of magic lantern and accounts suggest it was used as an aid in medieval sorcery and black magic (see Hague et al. 2009, p.2). There are well documented records of lantern shows in the 17th century and the technology used can be traced back to the Renaissance science of optics. By the late 18th century the lantern was being used to entertain and shock, in the ghost-raising optical tricks of the gothic Phantasmagoria.
The hey-day of lantern shows, however, was during the
19th century. Lantern entertainment was diverse: itinerant shows (particularly
in the early part of the century), temperance crusades, illustrated sermons and
missionary work, theatrical entertainment, current events, popular education, home
slide shows, etc. Entertainments were often interactive. In 1895 the Lumiere
Brothers gave their first public showing of the Cinematographe in Paris which marked the
beginning of the end of lantern slide shows as an art form for popular
entertainment. However, in the educational arena, the lantern slide persisted
until the advent of the 35mm slide and the automatic slide carousel.
During the 19th century,
technological advances allowed for more elaborate shows. Lanterns became
cheaper and portable; individuals could purchase them for display in the home,
in the chapel, in the school. During the 1880s and 1890s, large commercial
firms such as Carpenter & Westley, Newton
and Bamforth produced sets of slides on a wide range of subjects for sale
published periodically in catalogues. The slides were hand-painted, transfer
prints, photographic (black and white and colour tinted) and various
composite-type slides designed to create an effect such as 'dissolving' or
movable parts. Readings
of recitations, stories or lectures that accompanied the slides were also
available through these vendors. Photography was also becoming more accessible
with technological advances in dry plates, film, instantaneous shutters and the
mass production of camera equipment. Individuals could now produce their own
photographs and slides. Though the process of producing photographs and lantern
slides was similar (one negative could produce either), the difference between
photographs and lantern slides was performance. Photographs were for display,
were collected in albums, made a statement, but were not part of the
interaction between showman and audience.
