Saving the Past: Restoring Old Magic Lantern Slides
The introduction of lantern slides in 1849, ten years after the invention of photography, allowed photographs to be viewed in an entirely new format.
As a transparent slide projected onto a surface, the photograph could be seen, not only by individuals and small groups, but also by a substantial audience. This new larger scale expanded the utility of photography, changing it from an intimate medium to one that was appropriate to entertainment and educational purposes.
Within the past year, I was given about 1000 Magic Lantern Slides (in boxes very much like these). The slides are heavy (two pieces of glass sandwiched and taped together, one piece of which contains a translucent image). Each slide is obviously fragile and, because none were made after c. 1930, those remaining vary greatly in terms of condition.
Many are one-of-a-kind and literally represent moments-in-time. By digitizing the images using scanning and image-editing techniques, any given Magic Lantern slide can be improved (when required) and rescued forever.
Here are some of my latest restorations.
Crown Prince Wilhem, German Cruise Ship, 1903
A Street in Lake Chataqua, New York State, 1906
A parade in Riverside, New Jersey, 1898
Main Canal, Danube River, Nuremberg, Germany, 1903
The research is often tedious and I have quite a few that defy identification. That won't stop me. And thanks to TTGA and Larry Crehore who have helped me nail down some of the subject matter!
A. Macarthur/Owner of the Original Property and Copyrights
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Labor of love!
Looking great AMac keep them coming, these little trips back in time are wonderful.
I've never gotten a chance to scan in old pictures for you... I haven't had time, but I will, someday, soon, I hope, and you can do what you wish with them. I know you want the Hindenburg pictures...
Hope all is well for you!
These are great photos and they look like they were taken yesterday... Don't you wish you could go back in time to that precise moment and see it with our own eyes? I often wish that...
In a sense, with these pictures, you actually can do that Dowser. When I look at the Crown Prince Wilhelm, I can smell the sea (sure it's in my mind, but those sights trigger memories; and usually they're associated with odors). When I see the sailors, I know the things they did and how they did them. It brings back the feel of a moving deck under me. Even though I haven't been anywhere near an ocean for over twenty years, when I see those pictures, the smells and motion are as clear in my mind as if they happened yesterday. They remind me of why I love ships and the sea. I also love historical analysis of the photos. There aren't a dozen people in the country lucky enough to be able to make a living doing that; the rest of us do it because we enjoy it. As Mac said, it's a labor of love.
A walk down memory lane Mac....Simply wonderful.
Dowser,
I'd be interested in any old pictures particularly slides and negatives. Too bad we're miles apart otherwise I'd scan them for you (especially transparencies and negatives).
I'm convinced that most "old" photos, particularly those not originally taken for commercial/publication use, end up in the trash and are lost forever. I have a recurring nightmare scenario regarding old photos, that being, coming across several thousand at a yard sale, NONE OF WHICH HAVE ANY CAPTIONS (i.e. on slide mounts) and the seller having no knowledge of the subject matter or when the images were taken, etc. .
However, if they were in good condition, I'd acquire them for sure.
Speaking of pictures, when you're ready to add photos to your book, make a list of subjects for me (I'm assuming they'll be nature subjects) and the specs -- resolution, physical size, format and color profile) and you can use as many as you wish.