The Optical Magic Lantern Journal (September 1898)

198 The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. big future for the acetylene light. Those who consider the best of oil lights for the lantern bad, . will in this light find a great improvement; not that it will compete with the limelight, but for | what may be termed domestic displays it leaves little to be desired, when handled with understanding, Attempts have been made to introduce small | combined generators and lamps which may be | carried about after the style of a table lamp; . but this has many disadvantages and cannot be | recommended as being entirely reliable. There being very little room in them for holding or storing a supply of the gas generated, they must of necessity be gauged so that the generation is almost equal to the consumption ; but those who have had any experience with this gas will understand that an overflow pipe communicating with the outer air is absolutely necessary. True, small self-contained cycle lamps have been used with great success, but they are employed in the open air, where any overflow gas escapes through a valve without . any smell being observed; but although it is claimed that lamps of this style can be simply turned out and set away till next required without any smell being discernible, practical experience tells another tale. A generator for lantern use, it will be evident, requires a good sized gasometer, and unless this be sufficiently large it is undesirable that the light be turned out, unless for a very brief time, after it has once been set in action, unless the apparatus is provided with a safety valve or escape pipe communicating with the outside air. For a long time one of the difficulties in connection with this means of illumination was the procuring of a suitable burner, one that would not carbonise and consequently give off, sooner or later, smoke; but by the introduction of burners of the Naphey type this objection has been overcome. One of the items about lanterns that we do not often see in this country is ‘‘ Made in Germany,” and judging by the number of lantern outfits which are made in London and sent abroad, it is evident that their manufacture is well understood and carefully carried out in this country. Ofcourse the common Is. toyshop lantern, with a dozen transfer slides thrown in, can be made cheaper in other countries than this, for some German towns make a speciality of toy manufacture. At the present time of writing there are not wanting indications that the present lantern © geason will be a successful one to all concerned. 7 Optical and Mechanical Effects for the Lantern.—No. I. By EDMUND H. WILKIE. (Late Royat Poryvecunic InsviTuTion). “\) URING the middle ages, that period yy so frequently and affectionately apostrophised as the ‘good old times,” we find that all the members of a trade living within the = walls of towns and cities formed clubs Gus or societies called Guilds. The objects oP of their combination being not only mutual protection, but mutual improvement in the particular art or craft to which the members devoted their attention. Their craft (by which I mean their business and not the natural craft of their dispositions) was called a mystery, and their trade secrets were jealously guarded and handed down from generation to generation without being divulged to those unconnected with the Guild. Thus their traditions were preserved, and individual improvements were communicated to brother workers with the effect of benefiting the whole community. Individual effort is, of course, to be commended, but isolation from those of our fellow men whose tastes lie in the same direction as our own, must, in the long run, : have the effect of narrowing our views, and, by | throwing us back upon ourselves, cramp our ideas to a very great extent. Having arrived at this point, I fancy I hear the gentle reader (or perhaps savage reader, if he is an impatient man) exclaim: ‘‘ What is all this to do with dissolving view effects.” Patience! good friend, we shall endeavour to make this plain very shortly. What I wish especially to call attention to is the fact that the dissolving view fraternity has no headquarters, and resembles a body without a head. Some years back we had several institutions, all of which are -extinct now, in which dissolving views were exhibited on a grand scale, and where artists and mechanicians had an opportunity of introducing new ideas, movements, and effects, thus keeping up the standard of merit and continuously directing the attention of the public to a beautiful and fascinating pursuit. The general body of the public, however, appeared to desire something rather more highly spiced for their amusement, and, in consequence, these institutions failed to meet with the financial support anticipated by their founders, and one by one disappeared from the list of London exhibitions, until at the