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Lantern Slide Collection

Call Number

PR 70

Date

ca. 1860-1942, inclusive

Creator

Extent

84.88 Linear feet (4,869 items)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The collection consists of 4,869 lantern slide photographs, most are 3 1/4 x 4 in. and were manufactured between 1860 and 1942. Many slides were connected with lecture presentations about New York and early American life sponsored by the New-York Historical Society. Some are also original photographs of views of Manhattan neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, and Harlem as well as the borough of the Bronx. Images include bridges, rivers, transportation, churches, clubs, commercial and public buildings, monuments, parks, residences, schools, streets and theaters. Other interesting parts of the collection include a series on circus advertisements, several groups of cartoons and caricatures, and World War I American training camp slides. Some slides are copies of drawings that date back as far as the mid-17th century. Also in the collection are groups of slides manufactured outside the United States, including Germany, France, and Italy; most are tourist views. The Songs and Announcements sections of the collection contains slides used in theaters. The song slides were used to illustrate accompanying music and cover such genres as religious, popular, and patriotic music. The announcement slides provided reminders to viewers, such as removing their hats, or the slides advertised local businesses. Slides from amateur photographic clubs such as the American Slide Interchange, the Camera Club of New York, and the Society of Amateur Photographers of New York also account for a large portion of the collection.

Historical Note

Lantern slides are positive images on glass that were intended to be projected for viewing. In most cases, the emulsion is protected by a second piece of thin glass, and the unit is secured around all four edges with black paper tape. Many are individual, hand-painted works.

Lantern slides came into wide use in the United States after the 1860s. During the 1890s, magic lanterns were in high fashion as an extension of photography. Lantern slide shows, or the magic lantern, became popular home entertainment and served as an accompaniment to speakers on the lecture circuit. Lantern slides reached their popularity about 1900 and continued to be widely used until the 1930s, when they were gradually replaced by the more convenient 35-mm slides.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into series:Series I: General Lantern SlidesSeries II: SongsSeries III: AnnouncementsSeries IV: Special Formats

Scope and Contents Note

The Lantern Slides Collection contains 4,869 items, and makes up the bulk of the Transparency File (PR-70). The majority are 3 1/4 x 4 inch lantern slide photographs, many of which resulted from N-YHS' sponsorship, from 1900 to 1950, of numerous illustrated lectures about New York and early American life. Some of the slides in this collection are also original photographs of views of such Manhattan neighborhoods as the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village and Harlem. Well-represented photographers include Charles Simpson, Richard Hoe Lawrence and George E. Stonebridge. Among the dominant lantern slide manufacturers are the Charles Beseler Lantern Slide Co., Edward Van Altena, and T.H. McAllister-Keller and Co. Slides from amateur photographic clubs, such as the American Slide Interchange, the Camera club of New York, and the Society of Amateur Photographers of New York also account for a large portion of the collection.

The collection also contains a series of Circus advertisements, several groups of Cartoons and Caricatures, and a group of World War I American Training slides. Also included are groups of slides manufactured in countries outside of the United States, including Germany, France and Italy. Most of these are tourist views, but a few were produced by unidentified amateur photographers.

The majority of the images in the collection are relevant to New York City, and include bridges, rivers and transportation (including railroad material). Borough-specific New York City material includes subjects such as Churches, Clubs, Commercial Buildings, Monuments, Parks, Residences, Schools, Streets, and Theaters. As a whole, this portion of the collection provides a thorough look at the streets, culture and history of New York city throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of the slides are also copy work produced during that time of drawings that date as far back as the mid-17th century, functioning as examples of the sorts of images which 19th and 20th century slide makers and sponsors felt were worthy of preserving.

The Songs and Announcements sections of the collection contain slides which were used in the theaters. The announcements reminded viewers to take off their hats or go to a nearby ice cream shop after the show. The song slides were used to illustrate accompanying music, and cover such genres as religious, popular, and patriotic music.

Subjects

Access Restrictions

Available by advance appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org. Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)

Use Restrictions

Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from:
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024

Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282

Fax: (212) 579-8794

The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation Note

This collection should be cited as Transparency File.

Provenance

The collection's accession dates span from 1911 to 1955. See the Quarterly/Annual Reports in the Transparency File for descriptions of specific group accessions.

Collection processed by

Cara McCormick; database migrated to Archivist Toolkit by Jennifer Gargiulo, 2016

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:50:29 -0400.
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024