View of East Main Street; Waterbury, CT
Waterbury Photographic Society (associated with)
lantern slide composing of glass, an emulsion, tape, and paper.
3.25 inches H
X
4 inches W
Before PowerPoint presentations or 35mm Kodak slides there were lantern slides. With the evolution of photography in the early to mid 1800s, it became possible to project an image to make it much larger for viewing at work or in classrooms. The lantern slide consisted of a base piece of glass, an emulsion of a positive image and then another piece of glass on the top. The slide could then be projected in some form of presentation. This specific lantern slide has a cut out piece of paper sandwiched between the two pieces of glass that allows it to be identified without obscuring the image. One of the most challenging parts of archiving early photography, is that there was often no place to write identifying information, and that knowledge can be easily lost over time.
On this lantern slide is the name The Photographic Society of Waterbury. The photographer is unknown, but was associated with the society in some way. Photographic society's often processed film for amateurs who didn't have access to dark rooms, but it is more likely that this was used as an example of a member of the society's work.
On this lantern slide is the name The Photographic Society of Waterbury. The photographer is unknown, but was associated with the society in some way. Photographic society's often processed film for amateurs who didn't have access to dark rooms, but it is more likely that this was used as an example of a member of the society's work.
Lantern Slide Collection. Max R. Traurig Library and Archive, Mattatuck Museum.
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