The magic lantern in the Netherlands, part 2

	The magic lantern in the Netherlands part 2
The text is the translation of a part of the article 'De toverlantaarn in Nederland' by Daan Buddingh, published in the Dutch magazine Het Photohistorisch Tijdschrift nr 2, 2007.

Sale and hiring out magic lanterns Between 1870 and 1950 in the Netherlands various photo shops that were specialised in the sales of lanterns and slides existed. Known examples are Zwartser in Haarlem, Van Senus in Rotterdam, Merkelbach in Amsterdam and C.A.P.I. in Nijmegen, den Haag, Groningen and Amsterdam. CAPI was a company formed by C.A.P. Ivens, the father of the well-known film director Joris Ivens. From 1900 to 1925 CAPI produced at least 40 catalogues dedicated to lantern apparatus, projection manuals and slide series. They also published some projection manuals. The lists of series magic lantern slides mention mainly samples of German and English make. However also series that are made in the Netherlands are sold: Photographs of the Royal Family (the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898), slides made by the glass painter Van Staveren from Gouda (see sample below), photographs of the Dutch colony Nederlands Indië, the well known blue cardboard boxes with City-series, de series 'Ons Vaderland in Lichtbeeld' (Our Native Country in Slides) with cityscapes, national costumes, and the common people from our own country ("also very suitable for promotion of the Netherlands abroad") and not to forget Slides for Mother and Midwife. A CAPI advertisement at the time states: “We take charge of projection needs (limelight, electric light, etc.) across the whole of the Netherlands for lectures and other presentations with slides, where the presenter brings his own images. We provide a technical operator working the lantern as well as bringing the projection screen. One knows a craftsman by his tools.... We also have lanterns and manuals on hire to persons known to be familiar with the technique." Merkelbach in Amsterdam was another big Dutch firm dealing in lantern equipment. The 1911 catalogue nr 1 mentions: “To meet a growing demand we will put on shows using our dissolving views and the bioscope for parties, school events etc. We can also provide illustrations for lectures or other presentations. The cost for a Dissolving Views Show is 25 florins, whereas a Bioscope screening costs 60 florins.” In de eighties of the 19e century the firm of Merkelbach supplies a magic lantern to the Royal Family. The exchange of slides for the young prinses Wilhelmina was a regular occurrence.


Representative set of magic lantern slides about a poor paper boy, made by Merkelbach & Co. Amsterdam, 8.2 x 8.2 cm square. I interpret the story as follows: It's wintertime. The poor little paperboy meets a gentleman who turns out to be a doctor. Paperboy visits doctor's consulting hour and offers his jacket in exchange for help. His brother is serious ill. Doctor visits his brother, hopefully without accepting the boy's jacket.
Lectures Between 1870 and 1940 many Dutch towns had their own hire centres, the so-called Slide Services. Good practice examples are: the Apeldoornsche Lichtbeeldendienst, the Maatschappij tot Nut van het Algemeen, the Lichtbeelden Vereniging, the Lichtbeelden Instituut, the Centraal Projectie Instituut and the Lichtbeeldendienst D. van Kreveld in Amsterdam. These organisations hired out apparatus as well as slide series, besides offering appropriate readings. The growth of the cinema from around 1900 led to the gradual disappearance of the magical and versatile lantern shows. The lantern’s special effect entertainment with illusion, movement, and showing strange phenomenon that could not be made clear was soon taken over by film. Yet, as in so many other 'lantern-countries', the slide presentations in the Netherlands persisted on a regular scale even beyond the Second World War. However the lantern was used more and more to educate and inform. The Magic Lantern became the Optical Lantern, a projection apparatus used for illustrating lectures. A letter from the 'Centraal Bureau voor Lantaarnplaten' from 1932 reports: "We are about to fulfil the role of 'Public Reading Room' in magic lantern slides for our entire country ... the use of our collection is frequently ..." The 1933 Anual Report says: "... We have at our disposal a collection of circa 50,000 lantern slides which can be lend out for education in all its forms and for social purposes ...". Research from the local history group Heerenveen found numerous announcements and reviews of lantern use in the Friesian province in the period 1893-1910. Here we find a strong presence of the Salvation Army (Leger des Heils). They were the only organisation in this period that persisted with their message driven lantern meetings, yet included a good mix of moral and biblical stories with profane (mostly comical) stories, photographic series, and moving effect slides. The group Heerenveen also found a lot of announcements and commentaries of other lantern shows in the province Friesland. Mostly they were referring to Slide Lectures. Organisations and individuals with a clear objective arranged meetings, using the slides as a way to attract audiences. Examples found in the Friesian newspapers from the period 1893-1910 are: missionaries using the lantern for spreading the evangelical message propaganda for temperance – the fight against alcoholism travellers reporting on their journeys into other countries (Canada, Africa, Paris, California, Atjeh in the Dutch Indies and London) various didactic lectures on medical topics such as the fight against tuberculosis. raising consciousness, for example about the introduction of a state pension; a demand for justice religious performances, such as the passion play in Ober-Ammergau. spreading of information, e.g. about the seawall and the origination of breaches in dikes.

One unique example of the use of the magic lantern as a propaganda medium is shown in the public debate that fuelled the Case Hogerhuis: an action in 1900 to demand the release of three unjustly condemned brothers. The three got heavy sentences (6, 11 and 12 year) for alleged burglary and attempted manslaughter. Their conviction was set to make an example, their punishment meant to discredit the socialist movement. In 1900 a series of protest meetings were organised to free the brothers. They were announced as follows: “Grand Public Meeting with Magic Lantern Slides to help the cause of the innocently convicted brothers Hogerhuis”. Slides invigorated action to liberate the three condemned. Nevertheless, it was in vain. The three were not freed.
The magic lantern nowadays One of the largest collections of the Netherlands is lodged in the Stedhûs Sleat museum in the town of Sloten (Friesland). Peter Bonnet's collection is shown there in a sublime contemporary presentation. Other places in our country where magic lanterns and slides can be found are: the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, a lot of toy musea, Museum Boerhaave in Leiden and the Prentenkabinet of the University of Leiden. The Word Wide Web accommodates quite a number of fascinating magic lantern sites. In the Netherlands is magic lantern site 'de Luikerwaal' - www.luikerwaal.com - an absolute must for everybody who wants to know more about the magic lantern. Some seven lanternists and collectors in the Netherlands are members of the English Magic Lantern Society. A number of them present magic lantern shows regularly. The author of this article is one of them.