Theme

Topical

Description

Magic lantern slides categorised within the topical genre visually reflected current events that were also part of the contemporary written and illustrated press. These kinds of slides included four groups of subjects: (1) society—including national or international politics, economy, culture, education, science and technology; (2) incidents —such as accidents, crimes or natural disasters; (3) travel —showing current images of cities, landscapes or people around the world as well as travel motivated by scientific curiosity, the commercial and tourist industry, or artistic creativity; and (4) sports —through news-related events of interest to national or international public opinion.
Magic lantern slides within the topical genre also included the dissolving view subgenre. Magic lantern slides that belong to this subgenre are diachronic, simulating the passing of time across two or more moments through a gradual visual transformation. They provided added value to the visual presentation of all kinds of events: sights while travelling, natural phenomena, events such as explosions or fires, etc. The effect was achieved by darkening the image shown, while the next one was gradually superimposed.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Historical

Description

Magic lantern slides of the historical genre refer to the visual dissemination of the cultural contents of History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Numismatics or Paleography as Science. The collections supplied by manufacturers cover several subjects, from stories based on real events or historical figures, with the main purpose of offering a credible vision of a historical time, sometimes using facts or mythical or legendary characters, to organized arguments according to the specialization and subdivision of the discipline, according to different criteria: Time —which includes Prehistory, Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary History; Space –divided into Africa, Asia, America, Europe, Oceania; Topic —political, military, economic, etc.; relation to other disciplines —such as art, music, religion, law, science—; or any particular issue —electricity, church, etc.

Theme

Description

Theme

Description

Theme

Description

Theme

Sequential art

Description

Magic lantern slides assigned to the sequential art genre contain short series of drawings that make up a story –with or without text— inspired either by oral tradition, (without a recognized author and with multiple versions that match in structure but differ in details), or by the adaptation of brief narratives from the literary tradition, or by the printed graphic tradition of comic strips and cartoons (which had known authors and usually existed in a single version).

Theme

Advertising

Description

Magic lantern slides in the advertising genre are defined by having a specific property besides the generic content: their standard format. These slides accommodate all those visual contents of any advertising campaign whose objective was to create, increase, or improve the use of a product or service in the consumer market.

Theme

Advertising

Description

Magic lantern slides in the advertising genre are defined by having a specific property besides the generic content: their standard format. These slides accommodate all those visual contents of any advertising campaign whose objective was to create, increase, or improve the use of a product or service in the consumer market.

Theme

Drama

Description

Magic lantern slides of the dramatic genre are defined as having five specific properties: (1) recording and level of coding of their images by using recreation of scenic photographs (‘slice of life’); (2) orientation to the professional lanternist market; (3) a social context of public exhibition; (4) high scenic complexity —slides were designed to be shown with the reading of printed texts supplied by the manufacturer—; and (5) the use of contents of the largest dramatic literary tradition in any of their forms: tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, melodrama, farce, didactic works, or realistic pieces.
The celebrated Life Model slide sequences are a good example of dramatic magic lantern slides: a collection of slides that were marketed from 1870 in England by the firm Bamforth & Co., or in the United States by the New York firm Scott & Van Altena. Life Models collections were composed of up to fifty photographs, sometimes hand-colored, showing extras in elaborate sets and staging all kinds of cultural contents; they were staged accompanied with texts to be read aloud, and, occasionally, they even had songs and / or musical accompaniment.

Theme

Musical

Description

Magic lantern slides belonging to the musical genre are defined as having four specific properties: (1) orientation to the professional lanternist market; (2) the social context of public exhibition involving public interaction; (3) high scenic complexity —the slides were designed to be shown with the reading of printed texts supplied by the manufacturer, a vocal performance and / or musical accompaniment; and (4) the use of contents of the musical and lyrical literary traditions. According to the variability of the musical work used, and to the combination of the auxiliary formal languages involved in the final mise en scene, lyrical genre slides can be grouped into three subjects: song, anthem and hymn.
– Song magic lantern slides were inspired by or adapted from an admired song, which expressed a range of topics, from a satirical or elegiac emotion, to didactic moral teaching.
– Magic lantern slides with hymns were inspired by or adapted from musical texts, which tended to exalt and praise religious issues.
– Magic lantern slides with anthems were inspired by or adapted from musical texts, which were used as a symbol for a distinct group, and often tended to exalt national issues.
These slides had the texts inserted into the image itself, and they were synchronously screened with an individual singer, or with a choral performance inviting the active participation of this audience in the hall, with or without musical accompaniment.

Theme

Title

Description

Title genre magic lantern slides include visual contents such as signs, inscriptions or decorative elements that served to lead, announce transitions, or finish any of the projected stories during the magic lantern shows. Magic lantern slides within the title genre genre include the chromotoscopic subgenre. Chromotoscopic magic lantern slides are defined as having two specific properties in addition to the sign genre: a cyclical format and the creation of their images by pictorial and / or printing techniques.