Item MM 112718 Lantern Slide - Astronomical, Rackwork Type, ' Diurnal Motion of the Earth', England, circa 1850

Summary

This is a rackwork lantern slide with two glass slides, one fixed and one rotating, showing the cause of day and night. The lantern slide is part of a complete set of 10 slides used to illustrate a lantern lecture on astronomy; this slide is numbered 'No. 7'. This particular set was manufactured in England in approximately 1850, depicting astronomical knowledge about the planets as existed around that date. The set is unsigned, and so the manufacturer cannot be known for certain, although only a few manufacturers made unsigned sets. It was retailed in Melbourne by Charles Earle, Optician, who sold magic lanterns from his shop in Bourke Street from 1855 until his death in 1898. This set was used in Victoria in the nineteenth and early twentieth century by a relative of the donor. Precise details about its usage are unknown but equivalent sets were used in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century as can be seen from advertisements and descriptions in newspapers from the time.

Description of Content

The fixed slide shows an illustration of day and night, with an hour circle. The rotating slide has a picture of the Earth. When the slide is operated, the Earth rotates, showing the cause of day and night.

Physical Description

Astronomical Single Rackwork Slide. The slide consists of a rectangular wooden frame with two glass discs, one revolving in front of the other. The revolving glass disc has a metal frame with teeth around its edge forming a rackwork rim. A steel pinion with a matching toothed-end engages the rackwork and a handle is fixed to its other extremity which extends through one end of the frame. Light shines through the glass plate and illuminates the diagrams painted on the glass. There is a paper label stuck on the wooden frame with lecture notes.

Significance

Lantern lectures were one of the most prominent and popular forms of entertainment in the nineteenth century. In Australia they were presented in a range of venues including schools, churches, Mechanics' Institutes and by itinerant lecturers, as well as occurring privately in domestic settings. Popular lectures on astronomy were a particularly prominent theme for such performances and thus these lectures were one of the most significant ways in which public audiences engaged with scientific ideas.
A number of different sets of astronomical lantern slides were produced. Sets with static paintings or simple motions were advertised from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Sets of nine, and then ten, rackwork slides started appearing in the 1840s. The first such sets were manufactured by Carpenter & Westley; later, near-identical sets were produced by firms including W.E. & N, Newton, Dollond, W & S. Jones and Watkins & Hill. These sets continued to be sold throughought the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, showing the durability of their appeal.The use of these sets within Australia can be readily discerned from newspaper reports and advertisements. One of the astronomical slides in this set, the 'orrery' slide, was particularly intricate and was regarded as one of the most sophisticated kinds of slides ever produced.
While many individual lantern slides survive, complete, or near-complete sets are relatively rare within public collections, especially sets of complex rackwork slides. As such this set is of international significance in providing a valuable insight into the complete performance of a technologically sophisticated astronomical lantern lecture, and the way that popular culture engaged with science.