Lanternist's reading lamp

Lanternist's reading lamp. Oil lamp of black enamel with adjustable hood over a glass window. With a red signal window covered by a brass shutter. Trigger operated signal bell and a match compartment with 'sticker' on lid.

Around the second half of the 19th century, magic lantern shows were increasingly given in large halls. Often there was a clear division of tasks, one person to provide text and explanations for the displayed images and another (the lanternist) to operate the lantern and change the slides. There was a need for good communication between the two. To prevent having to repeatedly shout 'next slide please', which was very disturbing to the audience, all kinds of ways were sought to make it clear to the lanternist in a different way that the slide had to be changed – the small ping of a bell or the click of a metal clicker.

However, the main improvement was the lecturer's lamp. The simplest copies were only intended to shed some light on the speaker's book or papers but the more elaborate lanterns were equipped with a second light behind a red coloured glass with which a silent signal could be given to the operator by means of a lever.