The Optical Magic Lantern Journal (October 1897)

The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. 159 colours, including carmine, scarlet, etc, Sepia is obtained from the inky discharge given off by cuttlefish; certain yellows are obtained from the camel; ivory black is obtained from ivory chips; Prussian blue is the result of horses’ hoofs having undergone certain chemical treatment; the charcoal from the vine stalk gives blue-black, and the madder plant supplies what is known as Turkey red. From Siam we get gamboge which is the sap of a certain tree; raw sienna and burnt umber are certain earths which have been burned. HS Oa Colonial Lanternists. CFSE IN (a eee perusal of a number of letters We, rs from the Southern Colonies, reCO minds us of the fact that there ‘a i is a vast field open for obtaining (es = customers in connection with sub3) stantial and light lanterns, and apparatus ye” pertaining thereto. In many of the smaller towns there is no gas supply, and the usual illuminant that has to be resorted to for lanterns is the oil lamp. This, alone, is suggestive of a small disc and a single lantern; and such is not calculated to impress an audience with the grandeur with which pictures can under more favourable conditions be projected on the screen. Here, in England, we can send for cylinders of gas, and despatch our apparatus by train, hire our slides, take a cab from the railway station to the hall, and beyond rigging up the apparatus have little trouble. Consequently, it is a somewhat difficult matter to sympathise with our cousins abroad, many of whom have to order apparatus and slides, which they have never seen, from this country, and get perhaps what they do not stand in need of, and also receive broken slides (broken in transit) in great numbers. There is a good deal of apparatus in some of the Southern Colonies, but for the most part it is old, heavy, and out of date ; and this, added to the difficulties of travelling, does not render the pursuit of a lanternist either pleasant or profitable. A reader of this journal in Western Australia, in a letter, says :—‘* Fancy having to carry your lantern, slides, screen, etc., on your back for nearly a mile with sand almost up to your knees, or else have to pay a high price for a carrier, when one is on his way to help a struggling church or mission of an evening after a day’s work.’”’ Ofcourse, a good limelight entertainment under such conditions becomes extremely difficult. In carrying a supply of lantern slides, it does not take a great many pieces of glass 3}¢ inches square to become somewhat heavy after carrying them for even one mile, and for this very reason framed effect slides are quite out of the question. A letter received explains the inconvenience of heavy apparatus. The correspondent says :— “A minister asked me to give a show for him at one of his mission churches, as he was ill. I took his buggy, and he wanted me to take his limelight outfit, including a 15 feet screen, 1 cwt. of iron, pressure boards, bi-unial lantern, and all the usual requirements, a distance of eight miles; but like David of old, I declined, preferring to use an old lantern with oil light. I left my office at 5 p.m., and with a few biscuits in my pocket, I got ready to give ‘A Tour in London ’— operator and lecturer in one. It was a lovely moonlight night, and at 8 o’clock I only took 10s.~at the door, so I set to work to personally canvass, and having eventually taken 30s., proceeded to give a two hours’ show.” As we stated, there is a fine field for obtaining customers for lantern apparatus in the colonies, and the energetic dealer, who is prepared to supply a complete and light outfit, will have ample reward. With regard to the apparatus, it should be a light and folding bi-unial, an automatic oxygen generating apparatus, an ether saturator, etc. Respecting the slides, a couple of hundred slides printed on celluloid will weigh little more than a single slide on glass, and one or two sets of cover glasses, hinged together with a mat pasted’ on one of each set, is all that is required, for a celluloid slide can readily be slipped between them, when it is ready for use. It might be said there are light lanterns on the market, automatic oxygen generators are obtainable, and plenty of celluloid slides are to be had. True, but when sending thousands of miles to half-a-dozen firms, one has to consider as to whether apparatus ordered from several different firms are adapted to one another; whereas, if a dealer advertised a complete light outfit consisting of everything desirable to commence an entertainment, we feel assured that he would meet with good support, especially from our New Zealand and Australian friends, where there appears to be a good demand but little supply.