Our Towne Bethlehem August 2020: Magic Lantern Exhibits

This Our Town article was inspired by my previous blog post about lantern slides.  I just had to share the details I found.  The fact that slide shows go back to the 1600s is fascinating. Growing up, my dad always had the camera and took pictures on film that came back as slides.  I am remembering the collective groan around my house when someone said "let's look at some slides!" 

Yup, that's me and my brothers with my mom on the beach at Cape Cod.

Lantern Slides

When was the last time you sat through an old-fashioned slide show? The heavy carousel packed with 35mm slides? The fussy projector that always seemed to be blowing a bulb? Has it cooled down enough to turn off the fan? How about the finicky screen that never seemed to stay in place?

Nowadays, your modern PowerPoint presentation is defined by the number of slides you present even though those are not really slides. The Merriam Webster dictionary says they are “an electronic image presented as part of a series.”

But why are slides called slides anyway? The slide, that transparent object (first glass and later cardboard and film) that contains a picture, was moved in and out of the projector using a mechanism with a smooth, gliding, sliding motion. The projector, a magic lantern, used a mirror to intensify and direct light (from a candle, kerosene lamp, limelight, or later an electric bulb) through a lens and send the image out to a screen.

A typical magic lantern setup (A. Niemimki, commons.wikimeida.org)

Slides and slid shows were a thing way before motion pictures and photography. They go all the way back to the 1600s. Wikipedia says that Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens invented the magic lantern in 1659. In those early days, all kinds of scenes and illustrations were painted on glass. Sets were used to tell stories or illustrate lectures. Eventually, ways were devised to move slides in rapid succession to give the impression of movement.

Toy magic lanterns available from Gebruder Bing's 1906 Catalog of Instructive Optical Toys (archive.org)

Magic Lantern slide shows, exhibits and lectures were very, very popular. Here are some some local examples. The ladies of the M.E. Church in Coeymans offered a “dime social” in February 1878. The evening’s entertainment consisted of songs, speakings, and a “Magic Lantern exercise, which will be entertaining for children and also to grown people.” In January 1894, the folks at the Lutheran Church in Altamont presented a lantern exhibit of 80 slides described as an “intellectual and artistic treat.” The title of the show was “A Night in the Slums of New York.” Ministers illustrated their sermons, the P.T.A. presented lectures including one about the “wonderful scenery at Yellowstone” and the Camera Club had evenings where members presented their slides “throwing them upon the screen with the club’s fine electrical lantern.”

Even businesses got into the act. In 1892, Saul’s, located on Pearl Street in Albany, advertised that “Boys will please take notice that a beautiful and useful MAGIC LANTERN, will be presented from to-morrow in our Boys’ and Children’s Department with Saul’s compliments to all those purchasing a suit or overcoat irrespective of price.” Buy a suit and your children were entertained!

By now you might be wondering what got me going on this exploration of Magic Lantern Slides. Well, there is a stack of these slides in the photo archive at Town Hall. They were likely made about 1928 for the First United Methodist Church of Delmar’s Build or Bust Campaign. I imagine a gathering at the church, perhaps with a potluck supper, featuring the slide show followed by a fundraising pitch. The building campaign, by the way, was successful with $40,000 being pledged. Twenty-one members even signed a loan guarantee. The Parish House, the Norman Gothic addition at the rear and west side of the main sanctuary of the church, was completed and dedicated December 15, 1929.

The slides were made by J. A. Glenn of Albany. Glenn had a long career as a photographer and producer of lantern slides. His photo credit turns up all over the place on the internet on tons of lantern slides. Images like the Reformed Church at Tappen, N.Y. or Reveille House in Richmond, V.A. (Both hand colored and probably part of larger sets of buildings of historical or architectural interest.) A large set of images from the Netherlands are found in the William Gorham Rich Papers at the New York Public Library. One image found online is simply called “Cattle Wagon.” There are several that highlight rooms at Historic Cherry Hill in the Rankin Collection. All were produced by Glenn.

A snapshot of one of the J. A. Glenn slides showing local Delmar landmark the former Adams House Hotel. 

Glenn advertised in Moving Picture Age magazine in March 1920 writing, “Are you satisfied with the quality of Lantern Slides you are getting? Would you like to have the best that can be made? Send your negatives and copy to J. A. Glenn 76 Columbia Street Albany N.Y. Slide maker to New York State Education and other Departments.”

Did you catch the part about the N.Y. State Education Department? They, and especially the Division of Visual Instruction, procured thousands of slides, and sets were loaned to schools throughout New York from 1886 to 1939. Topics included geography, history, natural sciences, fine arts and more. J. A. Glenn made some of those slides too.

The Albany Advertising Club had Glenn in to talk about the effective application of photography in advertising and general business. He is quoted as saying, “A well-placed photograph tells a story which words sometimes cannot put over to the general public.” Another time the Albany Rotary Club had him in for an exhibit of educational lantern slides. At the talk, Glen described the process of taking the pictures and coloring them.

On the personal side, James Andrew Glenn (1878-1966) married Bessie Tedford (1880-1961) and they had three children, Robert, James, Jr and Donald. They lived at 9 Villa Road, Colonie, Village of Menand, for many years. In a local connection, his death notice states that he had a granddaughter, Judith Glenn, who lived in Delmar.