Lantern slides are positive transparent photographs made on glass and viewed with the aid of a “magic lantern,” the predecessor of the slide projector. Lantern slide plates were commercially manufactured by sensitizing a sheet of glass with a silver gelatin emulsion. The plate was then exposed to a negative and processed, resulting in a positive transparent image with exceptional detail and a rich tonal range. Lantern slides were used for home entertainment and public lectures, and they were displayed in photographic exhibitions.
Lantern slides come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. From the 17th Century different manufacturers and countries engaged in fierce competition to establish their own sizes as the ‘standard’.
The Magic Lantern was the forerunner of the modern slide projector. The slide a transparent positive image of a photograph in the form of a glass slide that could be projected onto a wall or screen using a Magic Lantern. The practice of using Magic Lanterns to project images on glass plates was in operation as early as the 17th century. Projected lantern slides quickly became the favourite technology of the lecturing art historian and remained in use for the next several decades.
Lantern slides were available commercially by the 1850’s. 3.25 inches by 4 inches, 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.
The slides are constructed from a base piece of glass, with the emulsion (photo) on it, then a matte over that, and then a top piece of cover glass. They are then taped all the way around to keep the pieces together and to keep dust out. Sometimes, color has been added by hand, tinting the images (since they are all from far before the invention of the color film).
Magic Lantern public shows and lectures were accompanied by a script and were used for educational lectures or storytelling entertainment. These slides are from a show telling the story of Peter Pan and all three feature Nana the Newfoundland.
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