The Optical Magic Lantern Journal (March 1895)

The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. 41 To Convert a Blow-through into a Spirit Jet. THERE are times when one has neither house gas from the mains nor compressed, at hand, and in order to assist those, Mr. G. W. Smith, of Bromley Common, has sent for reproduction the enclosed sketch, showing in what a simple manner an ordinaryblow-through jet can be made to do service as a spirit jet when occasion necessitates. The idea Mr. Smith informs us should be credited to Mr. Thomas Gulliver, of Swansea, who was well known as a prominent lanternist in early years, and whose enthusiasm upon such matters has not forsaken him. A small box, preferably of brass, is made so that it can be attached to the ordinary jet in such a manner that the wick of the spirit lamp will come in the right position with relation to the gas outlet of jet, the oxygen side of which alone is used, the hydrogen side being shut off. The oxygen tubing is attached to the oxygen side of jet, the spirit lamp lighted and adjusted, a small quantity of oxygen turned on, and everything is ready. Mr. Smith expressed the hope that some of the dealers in lantern apparatus would put something of this kind on the market, as he, personally, has found it of such benefit, that he is confident that if the lamp were produced at a reasonable price, that most users of blow-through jets would avall themselves of the opportunity of thus making their outfit more complete. In Fig. I. (4) is an ordinary blow-through jet, (B) chamber containing the wick, (c) the boxor spirit lamp to contain six ounces, which is supported on the jet tubes by the screw clainps (p) and (ge). ‘he lamp is charged with methylated spirit at (F). In the sectional sketch (Fig. IT.) the reservoir is shown at (c), the wick chamber at (8), the connections between lamp and clamp by (8) and (£), and the clamp itself by (a). This clamp is hinged at (a). The lime, as will be seen, is marked (F). * Modern Optical IIlusions.— No. VII. By Epmunp H. WILE, Of the late Royal Polytechnic Institution. (Continued from p. 395.) Mr. T. Tosin, one of the inventors of the ‘“‘Decapitated Head” illusion, was, I believe, the inventor of ‘‘ The Sphinx ” exhibited by Colone Stodare with so much success. It represented a living head supported on a small three-legged table, and was identical with the Decapitated Head. “ Another method of -using this illusion was exhibited at the old Polytechnic in an improved form. In this case the head was simply supported upon a short and slender pillar, the mirrors being without frames and placed asin Fig. XIX. These edges, as I have before explained, were bevelled; but Mr. Walker, the inventor of Metempsychosis, has devised a much better plan than this for rendering the edges invisible. The small illustration, Fig. XXI., will almost explain itself, (A) is the plate of silvered glass, the extreme end of which (8) it is desirable to render invisible. Mr. Walker fastens a narrow strip of glass, half of which overlaps the end of the main plate, right down its edge. This narrow strip is not all transparent, the shaded portion at (£) being silvered at the back, and as it reflects the side of the apartment in the same manner as the mirror (4), the edge is practically annihilated and is quite invisible to the spectator at (F). So important and striking are the results which can be obtained by the use of this invention that the inventor has protected it by law; I should mention in this connection that although the name of Professor Pepper was coupled with that of Mr. Walker when Metempsychosis was first produced, I have since been Fig. XXI. ' informed on the best authority that the merit of the invention rests solely with the latter gentleman, he having completed it ten years before it was produced in public. I purpose now dealing with a class of optical illusions know as spirit manifestations, but wish it to be clearly understood that all the effects I shall describe are simply stage tricks, * All rights reserved. The illustrations in these articles are copyright,