Series contains 35 children's magic lantern slides done in colour, machine-printed rather than hand-painted. There are 4 distinct grouping of the slides: 2019.88-1-12 depict the story "The Transvaal War" [manufactured in 1895?]. Each slide has 3 seperate images with black borders and are numbered s…
The Ernst Plank Company (EP) was located in Nerumberg, Germany and operated from 1866 until 1930. The company was known for their production of copper and tin toys, specifically stationary and locomotive toy steam engines and carriages, they also produced a variety of magic lanterns and lantern slides. When they first began producing lantern slides, the standard shape of a slide was a square piece of glass about 8cm x 8cm and, depending on the style of magic lantern being used, may have a wooden frame built around the glass. Styles changed as methods for printing slides and lantern designs advanced – by the 1880’s the wooden frame was removed entirely from the slides and replaced with thin strips of coloured binding tape that protected fingers from the glass edges.
Originally, hand painted black silhouette images on glass or wax paper were used to create projected pictures, followed closely by the use of colour paints to create entire scenes. Printed images soon replaced hand-painted slides, allowing for cheaper production and more widespread use.
A popular format for commercially manufactured lantern slides was a long piece of glass (usually no more than 23cm long) on which multiple images could be printed in order to tell a smoother story. This allowed for two different kinds of display. The first display has smaller pictures printed in circular or square frames with a solid black border and shown as independent images of a larger narrative with pauses in between. The second display option for these slides is as a panoramic scene with the entire area coloured in (or just with figures displayed like on a stage) so they could seamlessly slide from one side to the other.
This long thin kind of slide was ideal for home use and could be easily handled by children. Ernst Plank also produced a toy magic lantern out of lightweight tin that could be lit with a small oil lamp specifically for use by children. Slides meant for that kind of lantern were printed on celluloid or on a single plane of glass with a thin layer of transparent lacquer to protect the image. This created a thinner, more lightweight and less delicate slide ideal for small hands. When a toy magic lantern was purchased it came with 1 or 2 sets (each set consisting of 12 slides) in the lantern’s box, additional sets of a particular theme could be purchased independently.
Magic lanterns varied greatly in design and material depending on the use. Professional showmen would have multi-lens lanterns lit by powerful chemicals or high-voltage lightbulbs that would allow them to project clear images onto a large screen for a theater audience. There were also simpler lanterns that could be powered by oil lamps, multi-wick candles, gas lighting, or electricity in the home. One of the most popular themes for slide shows where images from international travel, but domestic scenes, Christmas, and famous historic battles were also very common.
Scope & Content
Series contains 35 children's magic lantern slides done in colour, machine-printed rather than hand-painted. There are 4 distinct grouping of the slides:
2019.88-1-12 depict the story "The Transvaal War" [manufactured in 1895?]. Each slide has 3 seperate images with black borders and are numbered sequentially so that the showman could keep track. There is no maker's mark, but according to a note placed in the accompanying lantern slide box, this set was made by the Ernst Plank Company. The slides depict protraits of men in various uniforms, battle scenes, and soldiers in uniform. Each silde is bordered with green paper in good condition.
2019.88-13-16 are unrelated EP slides bordered in red paper of varying condition. 13 has 4 travel images seperated with a black border; 14 is a long slide showing 4 boys in play dress as a marching band; 15 is a panoramic sea scape with ships and a harbour. A section of the coloured glass along the top slightly to the left of centre has been chipped off; 16 is a panoramic pastoral Dutch scene set in the springtime. The supporting glass piece has been badly damaged and is missing on the left end of the slide.
2019.88-17-28 are all travel scenes with 4 images to a slide seperated with a black border and no maker's mark. The images contain a mixture of people, animals, buildings and temples (mainly made from stone), boats, and landscapes from North America, Africa (with an emphasis on Egypt), and what could be either South America or Eurasia. All slides are bordered in red paper of fair to good condition.
2019.88-29-35 are unrelated EP slides of various styles bordered in red paper in fair to good condition. 29 depicts 4 caricature portraits with a black border; 30, 32, 34 are long slides with 4 individuals on each that are not seperated from eachother with borders, but are not part of a larger scene; 31, 33, 35 are all panoramic pastoral Dutch scenes set in both springtime and winter.
Notes
Accompanying the slides is what appears to be an original lantern slide box, made of wood and covered in faded purple paper with a steam engine train image on the top and a logo containing the intials "E.P." The logo consists of a 4-spoke wheel with wings on either side and 3 stars above. One short end of the box is missing and the sliding lid is either warped or stuck and does not open. A sticky note placed inside the box states that the green-line lantern slides (2019.88/PS-1 to PS-12) accompanied the box.
File consists of reference photographs collected by Chic Scott for use in various publications. Photographs were retrieved from various individuals, and institutions including Whistler Archives and the Whyte Museum. Content pertains to mountaineering, skiing, individual portraits, views of the Cana…
ca.230 photographs : b&w and col. prints ; 25.5 x 20 cm or smaller -- 4 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm -- 42 photographs : b&w negatives ; 35 mm -- 0.5 cm of textual records
Scope & Content
File consists of reference photographs collected by Chic Scott for use in various publications. Photographs were retrieved from various individuals, and institutions including Whistler Archives and the Whyte Museum. Content pertains to mountaineering, skiing, individual portraits, views of the Canadian Rockies, and related subjects.
Notes
Sub-series contains mostly photograph prints
Some items are annotated
Materials, including accompanying textual notes, have been kept in original order to preserve context
Series consists of scrapbooks, albums, photographs and textual records pertaining to Eleanor Luxton's domestic and international travels, and Eleanor's life in Banff. Includes records pertaining to Japan, Panama, Hawaii, and China; local events, including the Calgary Stampede, Banff Indian Days and…
27.5 cm of textual records (5 scrapbooks ; 0.5 cm newspaper clippings) -- 7 albums -- 1,345 photographs (1,083 b&w and col. prints ; 257 b&w and col. negatives ; 5 col. transparency slides)
Scope & Content
Series consists of scrapbooks, albums, photographs and textual records pertaining to Eleanor Luxton's domestic and international travels, and Eleanor's life in Banff. Includes records pertaining to Japan, Panama, Hawaii, and China; local events, including the Calgary Stampede, Banff Indian Days and a celebration marking the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; Canadian trips, including the Okanagan region, Seebe and Jasper National Park; and the Luxton family home in Banff.
ca. 17,580 photographs: negatives, prints, and transparencies. -- 1 photograph album (ca. 150 prints). -- ca. 12.5 cm textual records. -- 42 reels of film
Series consists of 4 lantern slides. Slides are views of the Banff Hot Springs, Banff Avenue with Cascade Mountain, Devil's Lake, and the city of Calgary.
Series consists of 4 lantern slides. Slides are views of the Banff Hot Springs, Banff Avenue with Cascade Mountain, Devil's Lake, and the city of Calgary.
Sub-series consists of lantern slides depicting Banff Springs Hotel, Banff Townsite, Lake Louise, Lake O’Hara, travel rides, Bow Lake, Yoho National Park.
40 photographs : col. slides ; 10 x 8.2 cm
Transparencies mounted as lantern slides.
History / Biographical
While most lantern slides are made of images that have been drawn, painted, printed, or developed directly onto a pane of glass, this collection consists of cellulose-based transparencies that have been placed within a paper border and secured between 2 panes of glass.
Colour positive cellulose-based film first became available to consumers in 1941 when Kodak introduced Kodacolor print film, a process that involved taking photographs on black and white film and then developing them into full colour positives in a lab. In 1946, Kodak was able to simplify the development process with Ektachrome, which used a colour slide film and also made it much easier for photographers to develop their photos at home.
Based on small notches cut into the edge of the films in this collection, these images were taken on Separation Negative 4133, Type 2, which was a type of black and white negative film produced by Kodak.
Scope & Content
Sub-series consists of lantern slides depicting Banff Springs Hotel, Banff Townsite, Lake Louise, Lake O’Hara, travel rides, Bow Lake, Yoho National Park.
All slides were cleaned prior to scanning - cleaning cloth came out red-brown, possibly residue from the red binding tape reacting to the acid-free paper sleeves.
The Focal Encyclopaedia of Photography, 4th edition, Michael R. Peres editor-in-chief, Focal Press Taylor & Francis Group, New York and London, 2007, pp. 699.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notch_code
Title Source
Title based on contents of sub-series
Content Details
[1] Slide patented December 29, 1986. Image of 1940's trail ride; two unidentified people on horses.
[2] Two unidentified individuals on 1940's trail ride.
[3] Horse standing on a mountain during trail ride.
[4] Unidentified individual on a horse; unidentified mountains.
[5] Unidentified individual riding a horse. Sticker reads, “George Vaux. Bryn Mawr, PA.”
[6] Town site of Banff and surrounding mountains.
suffering from severe white spotting.
[7] View of Banff, Rundle Mountain and Tunnel Mountain.
[8] View of Banff, Rundle Mountain and Tunnel Mountain.
suffering from severe white spotting.
[9] View of The Banff Springs Hotel and Golf Course.
suffering from severe white spotting.
[10] The Banff Springs Hotel and Golf Course.
[11] Unidentified individuals putting on the green at The Banff Springs Golf Club.
[12] Unidentified individuals in a canoe on Vermilion Lakes, Rundle Mountain in the background.
[13] View of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier.
[14] View of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier with table, chairs and an umbrella.
[15] View of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier with table, chairs and an umbrella. Sticker reads, “George Vaux, Bryan Mawr, PA.”
[16] View of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier.
[17] Unidentified individuals during a riding trail, glaciers in the distance.
[18] Portrait of an unidentified man with camera.
[19] View of Bow Lake, Bow Peak and Bow Glacier.
[20] View of Crowfoot Mountain.
[21] North view of Cathedral Mountain and Lake O’Hara.
[22] View of Lake O’Hara and Cathedral Mountain.
in addition to minimal white spotting and clouding minimal blurriness to image is apparent.
[23] View of Lake O’Hara and Cathedral Mountain.
[24] View of Lake O’Hara and Cathedral Mountain.
[25] View of Lake O’Hara and Cathedral Mountain.
[26] Unidentified male on a horse in the mountains; riding trail.
[27] Photograph taken during a horse trail ride in the mountains; unidentified glaciers in the background. Sticker reads, “George Vaux, Bryan Mawr, PA.”.
[28] View of Cathedral Mountain.
[29] View of Bow Lake with mountains.
[30] View of Cathedral Mountain.
[31] View of Crowfoot Glacier.
[32] View of Crowfoot Glacier.
[33] View of two men with horse; unidentified mountain in background.
[34] View of Crowfoot Glacier.
[35] View of Lake O’Hara.
[36] View of Lake O’Hara.
[37] View of Takakkaw Falls in Yoho Provincial Park, British Columbia.
[38] View of Takakkaw Falls in Yoho Provincial Park, British Columbia.
[39] View of Lake O’Hara and mountains.
[40] View individuals setting up camp with an unidentified mountain in the background.