Magic lantern

Long before we watched TV, Americans throughout the country enjoyed the wondrous and spooky images of the "magic lantern." The first projector and an early precursor of movies, it was among the most popular late-19th-century "philosophical toys," meant to educate as well as amuse the families who played with them. This German version of brass, tin, and glass was made about 1900. Originally developed in late 17th-century Germany, the first theatrical magic lantern debuted in Paris in the 1700s in shows featuring simulated thunder and lightening and other special effects. The popularity of the magic lantern quickly spread across the Atlantic. By the mid-19th century, magic lantern shows were a mainstay of American popular entertainment. Performers traveled across the country offering theatrical presentations, views of foreign countries, and even religious instruction. Mass production in the late 19th century made these lanterns widely available. By the end of the 19th century, technological advances even allowed photographs to be reproduced on the glass slides. In 1901 Sears, Roebuck and Company boasted "popular and up-to-date" photographs from such recent events as the Spanish-American War (1898), which took place a mere three years earlier.