Treasures of pre-cinema history 

In particular well known London scientific instrument makers provided the magic lantern slides with their own company stamp on the mahogany-wood frame. Examples are known from Robert Banks, William Cary, Thomas Rubbergall, Andrew Pritchard, Knight and Sons, Watkins & Hill or William Harris.

By comparing the magic lantern slides sold by John Scott's with slides from Fürth workshops in this gallery, similarities are obvious. Whether it is the painting style of the motifs or the colours used, a similarity is unmistakable. In the first years of the trade the workshops in Fürth (Bavaria) dominated the market. Probably with the end of the Napoleonic Blockade in 1814, Nuremberg workshops joined into the profitable trade. From this moment on it becomes difficult to distinguish slides between Fürth or Nuremberg workshops. The mahogany wood used for the slide frames by the Bavarian workshops differs from English slides by its noticeably lighter weight. The heavy mahogany woods from the English colonies were preferably sold on the English market, while the lighter quality, also known as "Baywood", was traded on the mainland of Europe.

The Bavarian workshops supplied the English market with two design of magic lanterns. The tinplate lantern "Weißblechlaterne" served as a pattern for the export models. The decorations made for the domestic market on the housing were omitted and the now unadorned lantern was painted black before being sent on its journey across the Channel. Another model was the Bull's Eye lantern, which was manufactured in the Bavarian workshops. This model was used to project large lantern slides up to half a metre wide and ten centimetres high. Both lantern designs, as well as the slides, were never offered in the German market. You can find in the gallery an outstanding selection of magic lantern slides from the workshops in Fürth (Bavaria) and Nuremberg for the export to England.