This collection consists of over 350 lantern slides, most of which are photographs of various geological features from around the world, and illustrations of prehistoric animals and plants. Approximately 100 of the slides are of photos of North Country, New York State, and Northeastern regional geological features.
Lantern slide of a geologic formation.
Collection Overview
Lantern Slides were a commonly used teaching aid in public schools and in higher education from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. The lantern slide was first developed in the 17th century when a device was invented that could focus a light source to project an image on a wall or screen from a painted glass slide. These devices, known as “magic lanterns” became more popular after the development of photography.
The North Country photo slides also include a three-page description of the numbered slides. The number of slides is about evenly split between geological/geographic features and prehistoric life. In addition to the slides, the collection includes a large, working, mid-20th century lantern slide projector.
The materials in this collection were transferred to Special Collections from the SLU Geology Department in the spring of 2019.