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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Magic Lantern


From about 1910, this vintage slide was made to fit inside a "magic lantern," or slide projector, as it became known.

The magic lantern was a direct ancestor of the motion picture projector, for it could itself be used to project moving images, which was achieved by the use of various types of mechanical slides. Typically, two glass slides, one with the stationary part of the picture and the other with the part that was to move, would be placed one on top of the other and projected together, then the moving slide would be hand-operated, either directly or by means of a lever or other mechanism.
 
Notice that Menasha is mispelled as "Menesha" on the slide. An early advertising piece, this would be displayed before/after a movie in the theaters, proving that commercial advertisements in movie theaters are, sadly, nothing new.
 
Otto Runde's jewelry shop was located at 154 Main Street, or just past the Bank of Menasha building on the way to the firehouse.
 
 
An example of an early magic lantern.

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