Wooden Laterna Magica

Early magic lantern crafted in Bavaria or Salzburg with exceptionally beautiful decoration. The box-shaped lantern is made of painted wood with a lens holder of sheet iron mounted on the front. A sliding door on the right hand side gives access to the illuminant (presumably a paraffin lamp). A circular hole as chimney on top. The lantern stands on an equally richly-decorated casket with four drawers. The total height is 62cm (24.4 in). The lantern and the casket are decorated with dwarves and flower ornaments. One of the dwarfs might be a portrait of the showman, since he carries a lantern of a similar design on his back. All figures are painted in an exceptionally vivid and comic style – the artistic quality greatly exceeds the average folkloristic decoration of this era by far. The lantern comes with 13 wood-framed glass slides in the format 49x105cm (19.3x41.3 in). Along with 10 hand-painted slides showing comic characters, saints and military subjects, there are 3 moving slides of exceptional quality. One of the transparencies is depicts midgets with moving eyes – evidence, perhaps, that the slides were specially made for this lantern. The set was formerly part of the collection of the well known director and founder of the Salzburger Festspiele (Salzburg Music Festival), Max Reinhardt. It is in good original condition and shows only minor traces of restoration. One of the slides is cracked, another one is broken in half with one piece missing. We have never seen a comparable lantern – this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a museum or collector to buy an extraordinary piece from the early days of media history.