7 8″ GLASS PROJECTOR SLIDES
Printed Slides
Children’s toy magic lantern slides. Many made in Germany, and frequently are rectangular strips of glass of many sizes, with blue, green, red, orange, pink or yellow paper edging glued on so not to cut children’s hands. Slides are transfers or decals stuck onto the glass strips. Commonly slides are listed as hand painted but in fact they are printed. With the improvements of printing techniques on glass, mass produced slides became possible. This type of transfer slide was produced in the many thousands over a period from the mid-1800s to the 1920s or so, and shipped all over the world. Hundreds, if not thousands, exist.
Decalcomania or Chromolitho Slides
By the difficult term Decalcomania we describe the technique of transferring pictures from specially prepared paper to surfaces such as glass, china, pottery etc. In the world of magic lanterns we specifically mean the application of this process while making a lantern slide by transferring an image to a square or oblong piece of glass. The technique was used by professional slide makers, but enjoyed a vogue among amateurs too. Images were printed in colors by the chromo-litho principle, and then transfered to glass. Porous paper was coated with a solution of starch, albumen and glycerin. The colored pictures were printed, details first, background last, and then finished by a coat of glue.
