A random selection of magic lantern slides to show the vast range of subject matter available.
Click the white arrows to move to the next slide.
Box of slides produced by the London firm of Butcher & Sons and sold under the trade name " Primus." Slide set comprised of a boxed set of eight slides with printed lecture notes.
An Assortment Of Slides
Lantern Slide Restoration
Lantern slides are essentially images on glass and, as such, are prone to breakage however understanding the component parts of a lantern slide can often help in its restoration.
A lantern slide has usually 4 main components :-
1) A piece of glass with the image fixed on it
2) A paper mask
3) A cover glass to protect the image glass from damage
4) A paper binding tape which holds the slide together as one complete unitIf the image glass is broken then restoration is virtually impossible and should not be attempted. If however it is the cover glass which is broken then usually the slide can be successfully restored. To do this you need first to determine which glass is cracked.
(see the example below)
In this enlarged slide picture "A" is the paper mask and "B" is the paper binding. If you look very carefully at the area indicated by pointer "C" you should see that a little of the painted image extends past the circular edge of the paper mask, this only occurs on the image glass not the cover glass so by feeling the cracked glass with a fingernail it is then possible to determine if it is the image glass or the cover glass which is cracked.
Carefully cutting through the binding tape with a craft knife it is possible to replace a broken cover glass and rebind with correct paper tape (not sellotape, scotch tape or self adhesive tapes like insulation tape or masking tape)