Geographical projections

Starting references

• Crangle, R., Heard, M. and van Dooren, I. (2005) Realms of Light: Uses and Perceptions of the Magic Lantern from the 17th to the 21st Century, London: The Magic Lantern Society

• Fiell, Charlotte and Ryan, James (2012) Memories of a Lost World: Travels through the Magic Lantern, Goodman / Fiell Publishing

• Hanks, T. L & Silverman R. J. (1999) Instruments and the Imagination, Princeton University Press, New Edition

• Humphries, Steve and Lear, Doug (1989) Victorian Britain Through the Magic Lantern, London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd

• Lightman, B. V. (2007) Victorian popularizers of science: designing nature for new audiences, Chicago: University of Chicago Press

 

10 key sources

1. There are four, partially overlapping (and each in their own way incomplete), lantern slide card indexing systems. These are organised numerically, alphabetically, geographically and by subject matter. The cards detail the numbers of lantern slides originally accessioned, the accession date, the lecture they illustrated and the lecturer whose paper they illustrated or the producer of the original images. Many cards also record the date when certain faded slides were destroyed or state whether any original negatives remain. Others state who donated the lantern slides and when. Substantial numbers of lantern slides in the Collections were, apparently, donated to the Society and never catalogued. In the past some of the lantern slide sets were separated, but can be reconstituted by cross-referencing the index systems.

2. The Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Journal. Copies of the original publications are held at the Society or can be accessed online via Jstor (www.jstor.org). These two publications contain graphic advertisements depicting magic lanterns, transcripts of lectures and the discussions that followed them, maps and illustrations associated with lectures, notices about the use of the lantern in the Reports of Meetings and publicity for the Society’s Children’s Christmas lectures.

3. The extant Journal manuscript (JMS) copies of the lectures read at the Society. Some of these are annotated and still housed in their original files with further notes by those who peer reviewed the papers.

4. Hugh Robert Mill’s (1930) The Record of One Hundred Years of the Royal Geographical Society provides an overview of the Society’s history from 1830 to 1930.

5. See the Annual Council Reports for details of lantern slide costs and income and lantern slide exhibitions once the Society had moved to Lowther Lodge.

6. The Royal Geographical Society Year Books (1898 – 1916) provide useful summaries of the year’s activities. Lantern slide numbers, details of indexing systems, the rules of the Map Room where the lantern slide collections were held are summarised in them.

7. The meetings of the many Society committees in the Society Committee Minute Books contain a wealth of information. The Finance Committee minutes record the lantern slide, lantern and lanternist hire costs. The Map Room and Library Committee Minutes record decisions to invest in new slide storage facilities, new indexing systems and, from 1951 to 53 the decision to destroy the faded lantern slides in order to make space for new collections.

8. The Society Map Room Ledgers contains details of lantern slides and photographs purchased by, and donated to, the Society. The names of the producer, number and geographical region of the lantern slides are stated.

9. The Society correspondence blocks include manuscript and typed letters by the key figures responsible for the Society’s adoption of the magic lantern and frequent references to lantern slide arrangements by lecturers at the Society.

10. Society Special Papers include diverse papers, letters and reports from individuals, the Map Room, Library and other Society offices.

 

Lantern slide research tips

The online catalogue contains references to lantern slides which were once housed in the Collections, but may have subsequently been destroyed. The decision was taken to do this in order that researchers better understand both the Collections in their entirety and the nature of the illustrated lectures or donations of slides to the Society. You may therefore find that the slides no longer exist. You can, however, check the Society’s photographs and negatives to see if any relevant images remain in these forms. Certain images may have been published in the Proceedings or Geographical Journal in conjunction with the transcriptions of lectures.

It can be helpful to cross reference the Society’s online catalogue entries with the physical lantern slide card index. This contains over-lapping numerical, alphabetical (general arranged by author or photographer name), geographical and subject indexes.

When researching the Society’s publications on JSTOR be aware of the fact that the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society run up to 1893. From 1893 the publication appeared as the Geographical Journal (GJ). Sometimes it is useful to go back to the hard copies of the Proceedings and Geographical Journal held in the Society’s Foyle Reading Room.

The Society’s Map Room ledgers contain information about the date and number of lantern slides either donated to, or purchased by, the Society.

Many individual lantern slides have manuscript or typed title labels with details of the individuals, locations and objects depicted. The sequence number of individual slides is often given. Details of the slide maker sometimes feature too. 

The Society’s light boxes can be used to view lantern slides and the Picture Library has equipment to provide high resolution scans.

 

Links to websites/blogs

The Magic Lantern Society has general information about the history of the magic lantern, worldwide collections and lantern shows: 

Trier University’s Lucerna database details key European lantern slide collections, magic lantern events and publications.

In 2014 Emily participated in the UCL History of Science workshop Emotions, Transformations, Restorations at The Institute of Making Things. Her blog of the experience can be found here.

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