[a magic lantern from the eighteenth century] · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: [a magic lantern from the eighteenth century]
Period: 1800-1850;
Description: Here we see a magic lantern, which was a form of image projection developed in the seventeenth century, becoming popular in the eighteenth century, and used until the twentieth century. Glass slides with images on them would be placed in front of a light source and one or more lenses and then projected. The magic lantern was the predecessor of the twentieth century slide projector. In this image we see several slides on the table in front of the lantern and a candle next to it. There are human figures on the slides and likely represent the various historical figures with whom Gulliver spoke throughout the eighth chapter. In the nineteenth century the magic lantern became a popular tool for education, and it is likely that they could be used in classrooms to teach children about history and historical figures. This image appears at the end of the eighth chapter. The same image appears in the 1843 Krabbe edition.
Image Creator: Sears (Illustrator)
Type: StillImage; Book Illustrations
Identifier: mta:21074
Language: ger
Source Name: Gulliver's Reisen in unbekannte Länder
Parent Collection: 1839 Stuttgart Grandville vol. 2; 1839 Stuttgart Grandville vol. 2
Image: mta_21074_OBJ.png
Collection: Gulliver's Travels
Subject: Projectors; Lantern slides; fictional works; imaginary places; Fictitious characters; imaginary creatures