A hand-painted magic lantern slide depicting Fingal's Cave in Scotland, by an unknown artist, c. 1860, and shown at the Royal Polytechnic Institution, London.The cave is formed from hexagonal stone columns, created by cooling lava, similar to those of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

The Royal Polytechnic Institution in Regent Street, London, was renowned for its spectacular magic lantern shows employing as many as six huge lanterns projecting large, hand-painted slides eight inches (20.3 cm) by five inches (12.7 cm).