Beard's Eclipse dissolving view carrier

Beard's Eclipse dissolving view carrier. Push-in-pull-out slide carrier in wood with brass fittings. New slide superimposed on old slide, moves in focal plane as old slide is withdrawn.

By the 1880s, lantern slides in the standard 3¼ x3¼ inch format were often produced without the older style wooden frames, using two sheets of square glass sealed around the edges with gummed paper binding tape. These glass slides had to be placed in a slide holder t to enable the projectionist to move them in and out of the projector. This style of slide carrier has a device that automatically centred the slide making the projectionist's work much easier. The innovative 'Eclipse' design slide changer meant that each slide could be pushed in front of the previous one before the latter was removed. This meant the slide was out of focus for a short while for the duration of the slide changeover.