Sneak Peek: 02/29/2012

by Marguerite Roby on February 29, 2012

Preparator mounts the skeleton of extinct lizard.

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Do you suppose that this image was projected in presentations about the Smithsonian in the 1920s or 1930s? I am especially interested in the neatly created caption that parallels the image of the diorama mount.

Sarah February 29, 2012 at 2:46 pm

Hi Sarah,

This image is from a series of lantern slides that were projected by a balopticon at the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago from 1933 to 1934. The set was called "Behind the Scenes in the Smithsonian" and was later displayed in the Main Hall of the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle as we know it today. The slides in this set were generated from 8" x 10" glass plate negatives, some of which we do still have. The captions were hand applied, though I am not entirely sure at what point in the process of creating slide derivatives that would have happened.

It's so great to be able to tell the story of the object as well as the subject!

Marguerite Roby February 29, 2012 at 4:24 pm

I have 160 different 4" x 3 1/4" hand tinted lantern slides that were a series from Keystone that are quite spectacular of the 1933 Century of Progress. It is the largest grouping i have ever seen of this event.

Pat November 12, 2012 at 4:24 pm

Pat,

What a treasure you have! Are you a collector or were the slides passed down to you? Have you been able to digitize and share them?

Thanks for stopping by!

Marguerite Roby November 20, 2012 at 3:37 pm

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