Magic lantern slide showing a baker, the devil and fair weights and measures

Hand-painted lantern slide showing an allegorical scene involving a man, the devil and fair weights & measures. A version of the Pull Devil, Pull Baker story. Made by Robert Bancks, London, c.1820.

Some magic lantern slides told recurring stories that attacked political or economic problems. This one tells of a crooked baker who is dragged to hell for fixing his scales.

Pull Devil, Pull Baker was a story constantly revisited and retold to address emerging grievances. The bakers controlled access to most people’s staple food and were sometimes regarded as tricksters and cheats. There are stories of bakers filling bread with lead weights or raising their prices during famines, this led to stories of panicked bakers wrestling with the devil, or stuffed in a wicker backpack, praying as he is carried away.