Magic lanterns projected images onto a wall or sheet and were a popular children’s entertainment in the Victorian era. A range of different images could be used for lanterns from scenic views to art and architecture, portraits of the Royal family, cartoons, and family photographs. In a description of Christmas at Stafford Terrace in 1886, Roy recalled the family gathering in the drawing room for a magic lantern display with, “different cathedrals which Papa had bought, then some comic pictures, a man in bed swallowing rats at a great rate, a woman whose nose grew to an inordinate length, beside many more which I have almost forgotten.....”
19th century
Tin, brass
33.0cm
ST/F/362
Image and text © The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.