Abstract
This paper presents the first systematic investigation of hand-painted magic lantern glass slides using multi-analytical techniques combined with a critical analysis of historical written sources of the painting materials and techniques used to produce them. The magic lantern was an optical instrument used from the seventeenth to the twentieth century that attained great success and impact on the entertainment industry, science, religion, and advertisement industry. The glass, colorants, and organic media of five magic lantern slides from the Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon were studied. By means of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, the glass was characterized and the oxide quantification unveiled that the glass substrate was possibly produced between 1870 and 1930. Ultraviolet-Visible, Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies allowed the characterization of the colorants: Prussian blue, an anthraquinone red lake pigment of animal origin (such as cochineal), an unidentified organic yellow, and carbon black. The remaining colors were achieved through mixtures of the pure pigments. Infrared analysis detected a complex fingerprint in all colors, nevertheless, a terpenoid resin such as shellac was identified. Metal carboxylates were also detected, contributing to the assessment of the state of conservation of the paints.
Highlights
The invention of the magic lantern, which emerged as an instrument of science, took place in the second half of the seventeenth-century and was made possible due to the application of a series of physical principles that allowed for the projection of images
Magic lantern slides were applied in various contexts and its use has evolved through the centuries
The glass was characterized using micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF)) and the identification of the painting materials was performed by Ultraviolet-Visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), micro-Raman spectroscopy identification of the glass support, the colorants, and organic media, using analytical techniques that are complementary to each other
Summary
The invention of the magic lantern, which emerged as an instrument of science, took place in the second half of the seventeenth-century and was made possible due to the application of a series of physical principles that allowed for the projection of images. From that moment until the last quarter of the nineteenth-century, it proved to be an optical instrument capable of providing shows that entertained a collective audience by joining the projection of images with the recitation of texts and the interpretation of melodies. This offered entertainment, mystery, and adventure [1,2]. With the projection of images and the synchronized use of sounds, the magic lantern became an audiovisual form with glass as the fundamental support to record the images. During the transition to the twentieth-century, mainly lithographic and photographic slides were produced, especially for entertainment, pedagogical, and advertisement purposes [3,6]
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