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If you want to search the Glossary & Lantern Alphabet enter the word or words you want to find in the Quick Search box above. The whole site will be searched, so you will need to pick out the pages that are from the Glossary & Lantern Alphabet.

Acres, Birt - A pioneer of moving pictures. He demonstrated projection of film strips at the Royal Photographic Society in January 1896.

Archer & Sons - A firm of lantern manufacturers. They were based in Liverpool and were active from 1848 to after 1901.

Arc-light - A form of illuminant in which the light is produced by an arc, or continuous spark, struck between two carbon electrodes. It replaced limelight as the illuminant for professional magic lantern shows and cinema projectors.

Back Projection - Back Projection is when the lantern is behind the screen. The screen is translucent. It was used widely in Phantasmagoria shows, because the fact that the audience was not able to see the projector, the magic effect of the show was enhanced.

Bamforth - Bamforth's were the foremost manufacturer of Life Model slides. They were based in Holmfirth in Yorkshire, and went on to produce early movies and finally saucy postcards. Recently the company has gone bankrupt, and then been snatched from the arms of the receiver by a local Leeds based businessman.............read all about it.

Beard Eclipse - A type of slide carrier for standard glass slides. The new slide is pushed in front of the old slide, and the old slide is then pulled out.

Biophantascope - A magic lantern constructed by Rudge which could project a series of photographs on a screen, thus giving the impression of movement to the subject photographed. It was demonstrated in 1892.

Biunial - Biunial lanterns have two separate optical systems to allow the projection of Dissolve sets and Effect slides

Boys Own Lantern - Some lanterns were produced and sold by the boy's comic "The Boy's Own Paper". These are generally Russian Iron lanterns, and they are often painted green, with the title "The Boy's Own Lantern" on the sides.

Brewster - Sir David Brewster was a Victorian optical pioneer who invented the Kaleidoscope and was heavily involved in stereoscopic photography

Butcher & Sons- A company based in London which produced series of slides and slide accessories under the trade mark "Primus"