BEDFORD MUSEUM

In the limelight : images of Bedford

The magic lantern is an optical instrument used to project glass slides onto a wall, white sheet or even white smoke.  Devised in the early seventeenth century, the first lanterns relied upon oil lamps and lenses to project glass paintings.  Over the subsequent 150 years an industry of travelling magic lantern shows developed, enthralling the public with spectacles of the grotesque, religious, humourous and even educational.

 

 Back