Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-15
THE STEREOPTICON.
THE DESCENDANT OF THE OLD-TIME
MAGIC LANTERN.
The County SchOOl-HOuse Exhibition Of
BygOne Days Compared with the
Ox-Hydrogen Lighted Photo Pic
lures Of the Present Time.


Detroit Free Pressl
Every one who has lived in the country in
his youth remembers the magic lantern
shows that used to come around to the
school-house several times year. The first
time saw a magic lantern show thought
it about the grandest thing that science and
art could get up. The programme generally
consisted of a lot of Bible illustrations in the
first section We had the finding of Moses,
the sacrifice that Abraham almost COM
mitted and different scenes of that sort.
This part Of the show usually secured the in
dorsation of the local clergy, and took in the
Sunday school teachers and their flock. The
piece that always secured applause was the
animals entering the Ark. The animals slid
into the Ark as if they were on roller skates.
Another famous thing was the round picture
of all colors which the lantern man worked
with a crank, when the rings OF colors
seemed to turn in toward each other, or, il
the crank was turned the other way, the
colors turned outwards
"Ladies and gentlemen this represents a
quilt for turning lazy boys out of bed on
cold mornings"
This patent joke always brought down the
house and we felt defrauded if Snowman
came around without giving it to Us.
This humble instrument with its oil lamp
was the ancestor of the stereopticon Of the
present day. Then the pictures were rudely
painted with transparent colors on slips Of
glass; now the pictures are photographed and
thrown on the canvas with all the brilliancy
of the lime light
Isometimes think that the oily odor OF the
old magic lantern hangs over the stereopti-
con business. and that people hardly realize
that they are next thing to looking on the
real objects with every minuteness of de-
tail.
My old friend Mack works a stereopticon
while the owner. Mr.. Drake, does the lectur
ing. Neither Drake nor Mack are profess
sionals, but both are-so to speak-clean
gone on the stereopticon, and like all anna
teurs have devoted much time to the devel
opment and study Of the instrument Mr.
Drake has been in correspondence with the
leading photographers in Vienna, Berlin,
Rome, Venice and all other places where suit
able pictures could be found and SO mas col
lected an enormous quantity Of glasses such
as probably no other man in the country
possesses
went up in the gallery of suburban
church the other evening to see Mack work
the combination. The whole affair was
covered in with q big black square-topped
tent, with a sort of round loop-hole in it to
enable Mack to see whether the picture got
on the canvas all right or stuck in the air
half way.
The double muzzled instrument was con.
nected by rubber tubes with a couple Of cop
per arrangements that looked like the gener-
ators Of soda water fountain
YES" said Mack, placing his hand on one
| of the copper holders "there is now a pres
sure inside of this about four times greater
than that on the boiler Of lake steamer
with full head of steam on"
There is oxygen in that one and hydro
| gen in this" said Mack The two can be
accurately gauged by this DEVICE Here
| he lit the mixed gases, and the fame that
| shot against the white stick Of chalk-like
substance was of an almost invisible BLUSH
tint gave slight scream and prepared
for flight
that's because there is q little too much
| oxygen" said Mack, as he turned a stop
cock. This has to be rather carefully done,
because flip of the lime through moisture
or any cause might break this glass, and
| that is SIS gone In a moment"
The pale flame soon began to tell on the
| cylinder of lime. Presently the heated stick
gave out binding, brilliant light, when
Mack Lit the upper one in the same careful
| manner.
The pictures were all arranged in an Oh
long box as they should Be shown, so that all
he had to do was to pick them up one by one
| and place them in either the upper or lower
instrument First was q Palestine colored
scene This from the upper instrument In
the lower was placed tn first picture Of ths
| lecture. Then the cover of the lower
nozzle was gradually raised and tha
clouds and the picture were intermin.
| gled on the canvas Then the cover Of
the upper nozzle was gradually closed and
the clouds as gradually evaporated aud left
| the picture on the screen Of gigantic .izs and
of startlingly realistic nature. It was as
good almost as looking ON the object ITSELF
1t represented great ocean steamer setting
out for Europa The instantaneous photo
graph had caught the peculiar dapple Of the
sunlight on the water and it seemed rs il il
| might wet the canvas The pictures were
by all odds the best had ever seem In this
| way we wandered through Europe. q most
| comfortable and satisfactory journey.
Sometimes instead of dissolving the pic
lures one into another, the covers were
quickly opeued and shut, giving an in
| Simultaneous lightning change.