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Listed below are some slide catalogues and characteristics of particular slides to help with identification

farries slide
primus slide box
primus slide
fairy slide

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
Sinbad slides

Premises of W. Butcher & Sons (London) who made Primus Lantern Slides

primus slide
butcher & sons ltd. premises

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

slip slide

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

__________________________________________

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
 

indcol slide box

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"

bamforth magic lantern slide

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.

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