[26 Magic Lantern Slides, European Subject Matter].

8 x 8 cm. mostly b/w (some hand coloured). glass slides (condition varies, all which bear Charles Potter labels, as well as personalized numbers). While the photographer of these images remains anonymous, their manufacturer, Charles Potter stands as an important name in Toronto’s early commercial history. The collection here contains mostly European scenic views but there are several portraits (individual and group), as well as a few fine art slides. Potter himself ran one of Ontario’s most successful optic companies during the latter nineteenth century. By the 1880’s "…Potter’s small instrument shop had by now become a big national concern…" having increasingly made a name for himself in the world of academia making instruments and tools for local institutions (Smith, Julian A., "Potter, Charles – Optician and Instrument Maker," Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 26-27). His business continued well beyond his death in 1899. There are numerous records from local directories produced in the 1930’s advertising the firm’s Magic Lantern slides and projectors for academic, commercial and religious purposes. (Smith, Julian A., "Potter, Charles…" p. 29).From the seventeenth to the early twentieth century Magic Lanterns served as an extremely popular portable image projector device throughout Europe, Asia and the New World. The medium was used as an aid for academics, tourism, settlement strategies or theatrical entertainment (Robinson, David. The Lantern Image, pp. 9-11). Magic Lantern slide lectures became common in Canada after 1890 when they were first used as tools in the federal immigration strategy (Scheinberg, Ellen; Rombout, Melissa K. "Projecting Images of the Nation…" The Archivist No. 111).…