J. Theobald and Company's extra special illustrated catalogue of magic lanterns, slides and apparatus (circa 1900)

b \Ve wish it to be understood that we do not merely sell slides but we actually make them ; we always keep a number of hands employed throughout the entire year both in manufacturing and colouring slides. People will naturally understand that in buying of the actual manufacturers instead of buying them at some dealers they get an advantage both in price and quality. To purchasers of very large quantities, we shall be willing to make considerable reduction if they will let us know what quantities they are prepared to purchase, and we also make reductions to missionaries and clergymen for mission work. We have also started a special system of exchange for persons liv- ing abroad, who wish to have slides sent out to them which they do not desire to keep entirely, but like to exchange after having them perhaps twelve months ; this is a very great advantage to persons in the mission field or to persons travelling in distant lands; the terms which we make are as follows :—that they pay us the ordinary price for the slides when they purchase them and are allowed to keep them for twelve months from the time that they are dispatched by us. When received back again we allow half price for them, value to be taken out in other slides. Carriage of course is paid both ways by the purchasers and all risks of damage taken by them. We would also draw attention to the fact that people should not be misled into thinking that because a man has a particular kind of lantern which he thinks a great deal of himself, that it is of any practical use. A great many lanterns are now on the market which are simply the product of people without any practical experience, who have been working out their own hobbies without any idea of what a lantern should really be, or what it should do; patent lanterns are generally very expensive and are not always any better, or so good, as an ordinary lantern. What is wanted in a thoroughly good lantern for an ordinary operator is one which does not require too much manipulation, the less working parts there are in a lantern the better; some lanterns are now made with different screws and catches and shifting parts, which would take a person several weeks to thoroughly understand how they should work and the advantage of which is absolutely nil. It is quite possible also in purchasing slides to buy them too cheaply, that is to say, some persons produce slides which are not of any use whatever for a clear good picture ; these slides are sold at a very low price, because any person having a prac- tical knowledge would not touch them at all, and they are what is termed, cheap and nasty, while on the other hand, it is quite possible to pay a high price for slides and yet not to have them good. Whoever you are dealing with, it should be your object to deal with a house that has a reputation and not with a person who has just started in business, of whom nothing whatever is known, who simply wishes to sell slides without troubling whether you are satisfied or would give him your further orders. We are prepared to produce any slides specially to order ; if persons wishing for them would send us engravings, photographs, or good pen and ink sketches of what they require. Our price for the first slide produced is two shillings, this is for a plain photographic slide, and any extra copies which are required of the same slide can then be had by paying one shilling each; if coloured, the price of it would be one shilling extra in best colouring; or 6d. extra ordinary colouring. Owing to the large number of foreign customers which we have, it is necessary that we get out this catalogue long before other makers think of compiling theirs, and it is therefore quite probable that you may see some of the slides mentioned in our list appearing in other persons catalogues at a rather lower price ; it is quite the usual thing for one manufacturer to wait till another manufacturer publishes his price list, and then to list some of the articles at a lower price, to attract attention and make people believe he is equally cheap in everything allround. If however you compare our catalogue, taking one thing with another, with any other maker’s catalogue, you will see that our prices are, in the majority of cases, lower than theirs, but if, in one or two instances you find that through sharp business practices, some of the things mentioned in this list can be got cheaper from another maker, if you will kindly let us know the name of the maker, we will refer to his catalogue, and if such is the case, we shall be very pleased to supply the goods at the same rate. Every person will doubtless understand that it is very often the case that a shop-keeper puts special things in his window at cost price, or a little below cost price, for the sake of getting customers for Iris other goods, and goods that are got cheap in one way have to be paid for dearer in other goods ; this is unfortunately also carried out in manufacturers in lanterns and slides, and therefore, it is quite impossible for us to guarantee that every article in this list will be lower than in other persons, but that we undertake to supply all our goods equally as cheap as other manufacturers, we think willbe quite satisfactory;