Listed below are some slide catalogues and characteristics of particular slides to help with identification
Primus Catalogue
These slides were produced by the London firm of W. Butcher & Sons. The slides themselves were produced by a lithographic process and sold as a set of eight in a cardboard box for about 2/6 per set. The series was divided into series A , B. and C. The slide size was 3.25" x 3.25"
Series A was described as "comic tales and nursery stories ,with reading on the slides" and Series B & C had readings printed on paper lecture notes, longer stories required extra chapters. Slides can be usually recognized by stories being in "multiples of 8 slides" with black paper binding tape. The images were either circular or square with rounded corners, and were prone to crazing. I have used the original numbering in the documentation of these slides however it is important to note that this is in no way a definitive catalogue as slide sets were constantly being added or deleted from the catalogue.
Junior Lecturers Series A
500 Sweep & whitewasher 508 Jack the giant killer
501 Willie's revenge 509 The elephant's revenge
502 Never ride a strange horse 510 Mr & Mrs. Brown & a mouse
503 Nursery rhymes 511 Puss in boots
504 How Jing Jing bagged his quarry 512 Jack & the beanstalk
506 Where there's a will there's a way 513 Old Mother Hubbard
507 Foolish bird & artful hedgehog 514 The Tiger & the Tub
Junior Lecturers Series B
600 Tom Thumb 725/6 Views of London (2 chapters)
601 A country courtship 727/8 Russo Japanese war (2 chapters)
602 Cock Robin 729/31 Japan & its people (2 chapters)
603 Red Riding Hood 732/733 Gulliver's travels (2 chapters)
604 The honey stealers 740 Our colonies Canada
605 Mr. O' Toole & the umbrella 741 Our colonies New Zealand
606 Living statuary 742 Our colonies Australia
607 Caudle's curtain lectures 743 Our colonies India
608 Comical cats & dogs 744 Our colonies South Africa
609 Everyday street sounds 745/50 Animals (6 chapters)
610 John Gilpin 751/53 Birds (3 chapters)
611 Robinson Crusoe 754/56 Reptiles (3 chapters)
701/5 Boer war (5 chapters) 757/59 Butterflies & moths (3 chapters)
706/10 Queen Victoria (5 chapters) 760/62 Sea animals (3 chapters)
712/3 The British Army ( 2 chapters) 763 The house that Jack built
714/15 The British Navy (2 chapters) 764 The Three Bears
716 Our lifeboatmen 765 Cinderella
717 Our Firemen 766/8 Children's life of Jesus(3 chapters)
718/21 South African Heroes (4 chapters) 769/70 Aesop's fables
722 Brave deeds 771 Sinbad the sailor
723 Birds & their nests 772 Aladdin
724 Wild animals & how hunted
Junior Lecturers Series C (with Printed readings)
773/5 Peter Pan 776/8 Alice In Wonderland
780/1British Battleships 783/4 Boy Scouts
785/7 Dorè Bible 788/90 Pilgrims progress
795/7 Conquest of the air 801/3 Uncle Toms Cabin
860/2 Famous liners of the world
Note also in some catalogues
850/1 Famous British Locomotives
Premises of W. Butcher & Sons (London) who made Primus Lantern Slides
Lancaster's Graphochrome Slides
Identifying lithographic slides sold in sets of 12 is often difficult as numerous companies seemed to adopt this format. Companies frequently pirated each others stories. The following slides were sold in Victorian times by Lancaster & Son Opticians Colmore Row Birmingham England for 5/- per set. The slide size was 3.25" x 3.25"
There appeared to be no original numbering of the slide sets in the catalogue the slides being ordered by name only.
Aladdin, or the wonderful lamp Mottos , compliments of the season, curtains,
Arctic Expedition 1875-76 Intervals ,Good Night
Ali Baba Natural Phenomena
Blue Beard Nellie's prayer
Bob the fireman Old London & our ancestors
Canadian Life (past & present) On the brink (A tale of Monte Carlo)
Cinderella Overland route to India
Cinderella No.2 Pilgrims Progress No.1
Continental views Pilgrims Progress No.2
Curfew shall not ring tonight Parable of Prodigal son
Charge of the Light Brigade Precocious Piggies
Dick Whittington Punch & Judy
Dogs & monks of St Bernard Pussy's road to ruin
Don Quixote Puss in boots
Dwarf Long nose (An arabian nights story) Reuben Davidger or captured by pirates
Educated Cats Robinson Crusoe No1
Elephants revenge Robinson Crusoe No2
Emigrants voyage to Australia Red Riding Hood
Gulliver's travels Santa Claus
Heroes of the lifeboat Sinbad the sailor
Heroes of the Victorian Cross Subjects of Natural history(animals)
Incidents in the life of our Saviour Swiss Family Robinson
Jackdaw of Rheimes Temperence Story the calculating cobbler
Jack the giant killer Tiger & the Tub
Jack Marliner The house that Jack built
John Gilpin The phantom ship
Jack and the beanstalk The pilot's story
Life in Africa Twelve stations of the cross
Life of Christ Views of London No. 1
Life of Joseph Views of London No. 2
Life aboard an ocean palace Views of Palestine No. 1
Mischievious Tommy Views of Palestine No. 1
Mother Hubbard
J. Lancaster & Son Catalogue Comic Slip Slides
These slides sold at 1/- each or 10/- a dozen. They had a mahogany frame and a static piece of glass and a sliding piece to create movement. Dimensions 7" x 4" ( apprx)
1) Capers
2) Bluebeard moving eyes
3) A nice pair (pear)
4) Punch with growing nose
5) Juggler tossing knives
6) Punch bowl
7) Chinaman kicking ball
8) Between 2 stools
9) Tiger
10) Picnic & boa constrictor
11) Jugged Hare
12) Father Christmas & plum pudding
13) When shall we meet again?
14) Man playing flute
15) Autumn Manoeuveres
16) Man swallowing rats
17) Punch & family
18) Woman with growing nose
19) A white favour
20) Davenport Brothers outdone
21) The Colorado beetle
22) Indian Brave
23) Alley sloper
24) Man on stool smoking
25) Man whistling
26) Lady on kicking donkey
27) Pickwick: Goodnight
28) Cow tossing dog
29) Sailor smoking
30) Scotchman (sic) dancing
31) Dog jumping through hoop
32) The sick dog "Who said rats?"
33) Cattle show 1st. prize
34) A pretty pair of spectacles
35)Temperence meeting
36) Stepping in father's shoes
37) Donkey throwing boy in water
38) Long & short soldier
39) Girl dancing
40) Oyster woman
41) Fine mutton pies
42) Clown & policeman
43) Turks head
44) Ginger pop
45) Cock picking corn
46) Crossing sweeper
47) Irish Stew
48) Speck'd taters
49) Clown moving eyes
50) Fairy
51) A family umbrella
52) Real Scotch
53) Dancing sprite
54) Schoolmaster : Silence!
55) Girl swinging
56) Election day57) Cinderella & her Godmother
58) Real old Tom
59) Chinaman & tea chest
60) Performing acrobat
61) Pantaloon dancing
62) Raw recruit & polished soldier
63) Soldier & umbrella
64) A shutter up
65) Water Lillies
66) Clown throwing baby in air
67) Boy & schoolmaster
68) Soldier on chair smoking
69) Bluebeard & Fatima
70) Countryman moving eyes
71) Noses to sell
72) Punch & Judy show
73) Man reading Times
74) Gin & Claret
75) Great fall in eggs
76) Monkey riding cat
77) Turtle soup
78) Policeman chasing dog
J.Theobald & Company
Lithographic Slides
1890 Catalogue
Coloured Lithographic slides 3.25 inches x 3.25 inches slides sold in sets of 12
(Original catalogue numbering has been retained)
1) Dogs & Monks of St. Bernard 21) Dick Whittington
2) Swiss Family Robinson 22) Old London & Our ancestors
3)Rueben Davidger (captured by pirates) 23) Robinson Crusoe 2nd. series
4)Cash Three ( A temperance story) 24) The Elephant's Revenge
5) Curfew must not ring tonight 25) The overland route to India
6)Natural Phenomena 26) Aladdin
7) Mottos assorted(good night etc.) 27) The Emigrant's voyage
8) Bob the Fireman 28) Sinbad the sailor
9) (No slide set was listed as number 9 ) 29) Robinson Crusoe 1st Series
10)Life in The Arctic Regions 30) The Pilgrim's Progress
11)Canadian Life Past & Present 31) The Life of Christ 1st series
12)Mischievious Tommy(A Boy's Trouble) 32) The Arctic Expedition
13)The Tiger & The Tub 33) Ciderella
14)Bluebeard 34) Views of London (modern)
15)The Life of Joseph 35) Continental Views
16)The Life of Christ 2nd series 36) Jack the Giant Killer
17)Views of Palestine 37) Guilliver's Travels
18)The Heroes of the Victoria Cross 38)Natural History
19) The Heroes of the Lifeboat 39) Jackdaw of Rhiems
20) Johnnie Gilpin
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Rackwork slides
These were kinetic slides with a rotational movement.A mahogany frame housed circular pieces of glass some of which rotated when a small handle was turned.
1)The flirt 12) House on fire
2)A camp in the backwoods 13) Windmill at work
3)The lighthouse 14) Watermill at work
4)Hair brushing by machinery 15) Vesuvius in eruption
5)The children in the woods 16) The knife grinder
6)The dinner party 17) Man swallowing rats !
7)Mail boat getting up steam 18) Fountain playing
8) Performing acrobat or leotard 19) The beehive
9)Water Cascade 20) Aquarium
10)The magician's cave 21) Curtain slide
11)Man with changing heads 22)Artist at the seat of war
23) Chromatropes
Bamforth Slides
These slides were produced in Holmfirth Yorkshire. The slide illustrated shows typical characteristics of :-
1) Temperance theme
2)Painted backdrop often with stylized perspective.
3) Live models
4)The words "Life Model copyright" or " From Life Models" written on the paper mask.
5) Often the photograph is hand tinted with colour.
6) Dimensions 3.25" x 3.25"
There were 4 main ways of creating images on glass :-
1) Hand Painted
2) Lithographic
3) Photographic (black & white)
4) Tinted Photo
Slide Sizes:-
1) Small strips of glass less than 3 inches wide bound with red or green paper were usually slides from a child's toy lantern.
2) Long narrow panoramic slides bound in mahogany frames are usually early slides these are often crudely painted.
3) Three and a quarter inches square. This was the standard size for British lantern slides.
4) Four inches long by three and a quarter inches wide. This size was the standard European and American format
5) Kinetic slides which produce moving pictures vary widely in size and complexity
Other lantern slide manufactures trade marks
1) A winged wheel or the letters " EP" are the German firm of Ernst Plank
2) A letter "Y" with an intertwined snake is the London firm of "York & Son"
3) The word " Primus" was the trade name for Butcher & Son London
4) The firm of "Newton & Co." often had their name in a triangle of paper in the left corner of the slide mask.