List of lantern slide collections
A magic lantern with printed slide inserted (upright, so if the lantern was lit it would project an inverted picture)
This list of lantern slide collections provides an overview of collections held in institutions internationally. The magic lantern was a very popular medium, particularly so from the 18th to the early 20th Century. There are many collections which remain uncatalogued. As a result this list is likely to continue to expand as more information is made available.
The majority of the collections included form part of museum, archive, and library collections which are made available to researchers either by appointment or through digital platforms. Magic, or optical, lantern slides vary in date, subject, format and use, and the collections listed reflect that variation. The collections are arranged by country, specifying collection name and description where known. Collections owned by private individuals are not listed.
Australia
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
| Museum Victoria |
|
Melbourne |
- Various Collections.[1] Around 4,000 slides, ranging from narrative slides to astronomical, industrial, portraits, advertisements and more.
|
| National Film and Sound Archive |
|
Canberra |
- Documents and Artefacts Collection.[2] 10,000 glass slides including cinema slides, song slides and theatre advertisements.
|
France
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
| Cinémathèque Française |
|
Paris |
- Laterna magica.[3] The dedicated portal for searching the Cinémathèque's collection of around 17,000, 18th to early 20th century, lantern slides.
|
Germany
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
|---|
| University of Hamburg |
Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar der Universität Hamburg |
Hamburg |
- Slide Archive.[4] Around 170,000 lantern size glass slides, manufactured from 1900 up to 1980 from all fields of Archeology and Art History, used by famous art historians such as Erwin Panofsky and Wolfgang Schöne. Slide Projectors. Digitization in progress since 2016, about 2,000 images online in local database.
|
Italy
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
| National Museum of Cinema |
|
Turin |
Over 8,000 standard and movement slides from two major collections, some of which have been digitised.[5]
- Maria Adriana Prolo Collection[6]
- John and William Barnes Collection.[6]
|
| Museum of Precinema |
|
Padua |
- Minici Zotti Collection.[7] Mostly hand painted, illustrated with engravings transferred onto glass or hand-coloured photographic slides. The collection also includes dissolving view slides, chromatropes and other movement slides.
|
Netherlands
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
|---|
| Utrecht University |
Utrecht University Museum |
Utrecht |
- Slide Archive with approximately 30,000 lantern slides, mostly in standard format, used by various departments for university teaching and public lectures. Most slides were produced between 1895 and 1950's. Parts of the collection are digitized in own database, a little fraction is accessible online via the Lucerna Magic Lantern Web Resource [8]
|
| EYE Film Institute Netherlands |
Film museum |
Amsterdam |
- Slide Archive with more than 7,000 lantern slides in various formats and types; some from the 18th Century. Contains many toy slides, lecture sets, hand-painted dissolving views and some apparatus. Parts of the collection are accessible in the EYE Collection Database, a little fraction (c. 2,000 images) is accessible online via the Lucerna Magic Lantern Web Resource [9]
|
|
United Kingdom
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
| National Media Museum |
|
Bradford |
- National Cinematography Collection.[10] A wide selection of lantern slides from the 18th and 19th century, including dissolving views, slipping slides, narrative sets and large format slides made for the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London.
|
| University of Bristol |
The Theatre Collection |
Bristol |
- Magic Lantern Slide Collection.[11] Several sets of lantern slides from the late 19th Century, some of which have been digitised.
|
| University of Exeter |
Bill Douglas Cinema Museum |
Exeter |
- Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell Collection.[12] Around 1,000 lantern slides.
|
| University of Manchester |
John Rylands Library |
Manchester |
- Brethren Lantern Slides Collection.[13] 100 lantern slides depicting Christian missionary activity around the world, all of which have been digitised[14] and are available to view online.[15]
|
| University of Sheffield |
The University Library, Special Collections Department |
Sheffield |
- Beet Lantern Slide Collection.[16] Around 2,500 lantern slides on a wide range of subjects. It includes photographic slides depicting Sheffield and home-made glass slides.
|
United States
| Institution |
Department |
Location |
Collection |
| Library of Congress |
Prints and Photograph Division |
Washington, D.C. |
- Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection.[17] Lantern slides for Garden and Historic House Lectures.
- Genthe Collection.[18] Over 470 photographic lantern slides.
|
| Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences |
Margaret Herrick Library |
Los Angeles, California |
- Thanhouser Studio Collection.[19] 17 Lantern slides from Thanhouser Film Corporation (nee Thanhouser Company).
|
| Ohio State University |
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute |
Columbus, OH |
- Joel E. Rubin Collection.[20] The collection consists of materials relating to lighting design and equipment. It includes hand-painted scenery and 'pose' lantern slides.
|
| Toronto International Film Festival |
The Film Reference Library |
Toronto, Ontario |
- Lantern Slide Collection.[21] The collection consists of 91 narrative slides.
|
| University of South Florida |
Special Collections Department, Tampa Library |
Tampa, Florida |
- Photographic Lantern Slide Collection.[22] Around 600 geographic/travel slides.
|
References