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• 1 media/Alice_in_Wonderland_coloured_lantern_slides_19101919_slide_14.jpg media/Alice_in_Wonderland_coloured_lantern_slides_19101919_slide_14.jpg 2020-11-10T14:06:20-08:00 The Art of the Magic Lantern 34 by Michael Ware plain 2020-11-25T11:21:12-08:00
  The popularity of the Magic Lantern and a boom in the glass industry in the nineteenth century turned glass painting into a widespread art form. Several detailed how-to guides and articles were published on the process, informing the interested public on how to expertly make and color lantern slides. It was a tedious process, one which required a lot of patience, a delicate hand, and very specific materials to get the job done right. One of which was a very particular painting desk with a section cut out of it to make space for the glass picture to slide into place.
  
  The pieces of glass used both for the painting and as a cover needed to be immaculately clean, free of any dust or scratches which would be revealed when the image was projected on screen. When it came time to paint, a very specific and limited set of colors were available to the artists of the time, as the paints had to be transparent enough to allow the transmission of light from the lantern (Groom). Most painting was done with watercolors, sometimes in combination with oil-based pants. Limited paint availability meant that colors were often combined together to form uncommon shades such as purple and green.
  
  The actual arrangement of colors on the lantern slide was very particular, as the focal points of the slide needed to be more vibrantly colored than the background. This color requirement was due to the higher volume of light which passed through this part of the slide, as well as it being the subject closest to the viewer. This often meant that lighter, warmer colors were used at the center of the slide, while darker, colder ones found their place along the rims (Groom). When the painting was finished, another plate of glass was added on top as a protective binding and the edges of the slide were framed with black masking paper. At the end of this lengthy and fragile process, you would end up with a beautifully crafted slide ready to be shared with an audience alongside an auditory performance.
  
  As time passed and technology advanced, the magic lantern expanded into a medium through which to study art and a pioneer of the development of film which shifted the culture of Victorian, and present, society. The art of painting lantern slides went through three distinct phases of development: hand-painting, printing, and photography. Hand-painting was the most time-consuming of the three, mainly due to the outlining process required before the painting of background and foreground elements could take place. Eventually, people found this method of painting to be too arduous and simpler means of production were found in printing and photographic techniques. The most widely used printing technique for magic lanterns was chromolithography (later known as “decal”), a process where colored pieces of stone were wetted and then stamped onto glass slides to create an image (Frutos). Photographic techniques came into being when photography began to grow in popularity and specialized glass slides that worked similar to film negatives were mass produced.
  
  The inclusion of photography in the magic lantern’s form allowed greater access to real life images, which became a useful teaching and documentary tool that moved the lantern beyond the form of entertainment (Leighton). The expansion of its uses built the magic lantern and its slides a place in art history as a study of an audiovisual phenomena which allowed easier access to works of art and an optimal method of sharing them in both intellectual and social settings.
  
  When the dissolving view, a precursor to the cinematic effect of dissolving from one scene into another, was invented, it added another layer to the media form of magic lantern slides. Combined with dramatic readings, the dissolving view gave the effect of being immersed within a world and took the form one step closer to the medium of film. This visual form of storytelling produced from the beautifully crafted art of the lantern slides was seductive for writers of fiction and nonfiction alike, and soon became a popular form through which to transform written stories into multi-sense projection productions.
  
  The adaptation of popular fiction into magic lantern performances was the driving force behind Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland being transformed into a sequence of artfully constructed magic lantern slides. In the nineteenth century when the magic lantern reached its peak, Alice had become one of the most popular and well-known fiction stories, producing special editions and play renditions which only heightened its cultural influence. Carroll had turned Alice into an industry and was ready to share Alice and her story through new forms. In 1876 George Buckland, a popular magic lanternist, adapted the Alice books into magic lantern form, using a combination of dissolving view, music, and stage performers to create a live action re-telling. Buckland’s was just one of many magic lantern recreations that stemmed from the story of Alice. Though Carroll never explicitly approved the creation of Alice lantern slides, their existence and subsequent performances with them became incredibly popular amongst audiences, extending his influence over Victorian society. Looking at the Mad Tea Party lantern slide from the Carroll Collection as an example, we can further explore the art of the magic lantern and its influence on Wonderland.
  
  The Carroll Collection’s Alice slides were produced sometime between 1910 and 1919 when printing and photographic techniques were becoming the norm. Because the Mad Hatter slide was based off a narrative piece and required a specifically designed illustration, this slide was most likely made using a printing technique, like lithography. The stone-stamping of the drawing onto the slide might explain some of the image’s spotty-like texture. Looking at the color scheme of the slide, it is obvious that the more vibrant and eye-catching colors were used on the central characters of the piece. The dark red of the Mad Hatter’s suit-jacket, and the bright blues of Alice’s dress and the Hare’s coat all stand out amongst the paler hues of beige and green which categorize the background. The characters are the most prominent subjects on the slide, and being at the center, will absorb more light, so brighter and deeper colors are used to keep them the focus of the piece. Compared to the original Tenniel illustration, the drawing style and color usage on the slide produce a more uplifting, lighthearted tone which made it easier to keep an audience’s attention during a live performance. The Alice lantern slides provide an exploration into the multi-faceted worlds of both Wonderland and the magic lantern. The story of Alice told in the form of lantern slides was a precursor to the film adaptations of the film which expanded Alice and Wonderland even further into the hearts and minds of the public, so much so that Carroll’s story is still being shared all over the world today.

  Further Reading

  Sources Cited

  Frutos, Francisco Javier. “From Luminous Pictures to Transparent Photographs: The Evolution of Techniques for Making Magic Lantern Slides.” The Magic Lantern Gazette, vol. 25, no. 3, The Magic Lantern Society of the United States and Canada, 2013. Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.

  Groom, Edward. “Transparent Painting on Glass.” The Decorator and Furnisher, vol. 14, no. 6, 1889, pp. 174–177. JSTOR, Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.

  Groth, Helen. “Mediating Popular Fictions: From the Magic Lantern to the Cinematograph.” New Directions in Popular Fiction, edited by Ken Gelder, 2016, London. Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.

  Leighton, Howard B. “The Lantern Slide and Art History.” History of Photography, vol. 8, no. 2, 1984. Taylor & Francis Online, Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.

  The Art of The Magic Lantern

  Elmendorf, Dwight Lathrop. Lantern Slides: How to Make and Color Them. 3rd ed., Eastman Kodak Company, 1919, New York. HathiTrust,  Accessed 2 November 2020.
  This book, published in 1919 and written by Dwight Elmendorf, provides a detailed guide on the process of making and coloring photographic lantern slides.

  Frutos, Francisco Javier. “From Luminous Pictures to Transparent Photographs: The Evolution of Techniques for Making Magic Lantern Slides.” The Magic Lantern Gazette, vol. 25, no. 3, The Magic Lantern Society of the United States and Canada, 2013. Accessed 2 Nov. 2020. This article by Francisco Frutos centers around the evolution of techniques for copying images onto glass for the purpose of magic lantern slides. Focusing on three stages of development in the lantern slide making process, the article argues the importance of the magic lantern as a successful, fully developed audiovisual industry before the invention of more advanced visual media.

  Groom, Edward. “Transparent Painting on Glass.” The Decorator and Furnisher, vol. 14, no. 6, 1889, pp. 174–177.
  This article by Edward Groom provides an explicit description of the materials used to paint images onto lantern slides and a step-by-step explanation of the different stages in the painting process.

  Groth, Helen. “Mediating Popular Fictions: From the Magic Lantern to the Cinematograph.” New Directions in Popular Fiction, edited by Ken Gelder, 2016, London. SpringerLink, Accessed 2 Nov. 2020. 
  This chapter written by Helen Groth the adaptation and mediation of famous works of fiction into the technological art forms of the magic lantern and the cinematograph. Focusing mainly on the works of Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and Walter Scott, Groth looks at the influence that adaptations of popular fiction into magic lantern sequences had on culture in both the public and domestic spheres.

  Leighton, Howard B. “The Lantern Slide and Art History.” History of Photography, vol. 8, no.2,  1984. Taylor & Francis Online, Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.
  This article by Howard B. Leighton dives into the history of the lantern slide, starting with its earliest production in 1846 and marking the media form as an important contributor to art history. Leighton provides a detailed description of the different modifications made to the lantern slide and its accompanying projector over the years, marking each important shift in technology which widened access to the form.

  Susina, Jan. “Multiple Wonderlands: Lewis Carroll and the Creation of the Alice Industry.” The Place of Lewis Carroll in Children's Literature, Taylor & Francis Group, 2009, pp. 61-70. ProQuest Ebook Central, Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.
  This chapter from The Place of Lewis Carroll in Children’s Literature takes a more personal look at the actions of Lewis Caroll and his individual involvement in taking the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and turning it into an industry. Susina portrays Alice’s monopolization of the literary and cultural world of the Victorian era, breaking it’s way into the hearts and minds of children and adults alike with a fervor that has still survived today.