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 he magic lantern, sometimes called the “father of film,” was invented in Europe in the 1650’s. Images were painted onto glass and projected using candle or lantern light onto walls, cloth or other surfaces. Later, lantern slides were made by taking a photograph and printing the image onto transparent glass, which would then be sandwiched together with another piece of glass to protect the emulsion. Many times the black-and-white images were hand-colored, work that required a delicate hand, for any mistake would be magnified mercilessly. By the late eighteenth century, the magic lantern had become a favorite tool of the itinerant showman, who traveled the countryside entertaining small audiences, often with images of goblins and devils. The first major magic lantern show was the Phantasmagoria, presented in Paris in 1799 by a Belgian gentleman who adopted the name of ‘Robertson.’ Cleverly staged in a deserted convent, he intrigued and terrified his audience with a combination of strategically arranged props, floating ghostly figures achieved through the use of the magic lantern, and frightening sound effects. The production was an immediate hit, and soon imitators appeared in America, fascinating audiences up and down the eastern coast with their macabre productions. Other showmen, sometimes called “professors,” stuck to tamer material, offering shows with Biblical, moral or other themes. By the end of the nineteenth century, the magic lantern had reached its zenith. Presented in schools, churches, theaters and even in the home, these sometimes elaborate productions told stories, illustrated sing-alongs or presented information about a specific subject. Shows frequently included special effects such as dissolving images and animation. In the theatrical lantern shows, a showman and a musician provided the sound, assisted by the audience who clapped, shouted, or enhanced the presentation with horns and tambourines. The American master of the genre was Joseph Boggs Beale, whose work became part of his publisher’s effort to present great literature, history and religion on the screen from about 1880—1915. By the early twentieth century, however, the development of the motion picture film drew audiences away, and the era of the magic lantern came to an end. The last magic lantern slides were produced in the early 1930’s. John H. Patterson and “Teaching Through the Eye” John H. Patterson shared the American fascination with the magic lantern, using the medium primarily to educate and reform. Firmly believing in the power of “teaching through the eye,” he found in the magic lantern slide the perfect way of spreading his ideas. The Company’s collection was begun in 1891, when Patterson used a lantern slide to throw reflections of parts of cash register machinery upon a screen to illustrate points he wanted to make to his employees. This method worked so well that he eventually expanded the Photography Department to include seven women, who painstakingly hand-colored each slide. In 1892, when John H. Patterson began his crusade to improve the NCR factory grounds and the surrounding South Park neighborhood, he used lantern slides to teach his ideas on home improvement and landscaping to employees and residents. As time passed, the number of topics grew to cover the broad range of subjects which interested Patterson or on which he held strong opinions. Health, religion, history, urban reform, worker welfare programs, salesmanship, the art of window display, business systems, and travel were just a few of the themes expounded on in the many lecture programs produced by the Company. These shows were shown not only in Dayton, but were used by the salesmen in NCR’s large selling force. Ever pragmatic, Patterson knew that the shows not only forwarded his causes, but also promoted NCR’s image as the “model factory of the world,” which helped increase sales. Thousands of requests were also received from churches, schools and civic organizations for the slide lectures to be shown or loaned out. NCR willingly obliged, never charging for this service. At one time, the Company owned sixty-five lantern slide projectors, which were in constant use across the country. Patterson’s successors continued to “teach through the eye,” adding thousands of images to the collection. In the end, they left behind a legacy of 68,000 magic lantern slides, one of the largest collections known today. It includes valuable imagery documenting life across the nation and the world, and represents the time when the magic lantern reigned supreme as the ultimate in optical projection. BACK TO TOP |
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