Today, home entertainment is available at the push of a button. Television, video games and computers are ubiquitous. Trips to the movie theater are popular and even more movies are viewed at home. It can seem that visual entertainment is a constant during our everyday lives.

In early Texas, the lifestyle was different. Families depended on themselves for leisure time activities. Few of them included the creation, use or showing of visual images. However, one way they could tell visual stories was with a magic lantern. Some families did have a magic lantern while many probably didn’t. Having been invented in the 1600s, magic lanterns are the earliest form of slide projector. They work by projecting a light source through a slide and onto a wall or other surface.

The earliest lanterns were lit by candles. In the 19th century, kerosene magic lanterns were created. These lanterns had a reservoir for kerosene that contained a wick that was lifted into the body of the lantern where it was lit, just as in a regular kerosene lamp. The smoke lifted directly up and out of the lantern through a chimney, and the light shone forward through a slide on a holder and then was projected by a lens.

Most slides were made of glass, either strips or round discs. Some depicted fairy tales or other fiction. Bible stories were also a popular subject. Other slides had images of faraway places or comic scenes. Initially, these images were painted, drawn or printed. After photography became widespread, slides included photographs of famous cities, landmarks and events as well. By 1902, slides were also made of celluloid.

Magic lanterns also worked with chromotropes. These were also known as artificial fireworks and consisted of two glass discs painted in colorful geometric patterns that were rotated in opposite directions by a hand crank, which created a very colorful effect. Another movable slide was a slip slide, where two slides are sandwiched together and one image was moved on top of the other to give the appearance of movement.

Magic lanterns were a popular source of fun, entertainment and adventure. Some models were built large enough to make them useful for public shows while others were smaller and sold for use in the home. There were even magic lanterns made for use by children. Magic lanterns were Victorian fun for the whole family.

Historical facts and photos courtesy of the

Fort Bend County Museum Association, Richmond, TX

The Magic Lantern