It looks like we’re not the only ones interested in magic history! The Hudson River Museum opened “Gilded Age Magic” today featuring some of our favorite vaudevillians featured in the Library’s Percival collection — like Chung Ling Soo, the Scottish-born American who was tragically killed after his “bullet catch” act malfunctioned. The exhibit features theatrical programs, promotional photographs, spirit cabinets, and vintage clips of these popular shows.
Terry Borton of the American Magic Lantern Theater shared with me his review of our show written for the monthly Magic Lantern Society newsletter. Terry was of invaluable help to us as we navigated the world of 19th century technologies, and he’s allowed us to reproduce the review below:
It was a wonder, no doubt about it. It might even to have something to say about the future of the magic-lantern society.
The Wonder Show, a unique magic-lantern show, was spearheaded by Carolyn Gennari and Anya Ventura, two young visual historians based in Providence, RI, in cooperation with the city’s Library and Historical Society. Carolyn and Anya became fascinated with a treasure trove of negatives and lantern slides in the Arnold Collection of the Providence Public Library. They wanted to bring these old images to life for a modern young audience, and decided to show them with a magic lantern.
That required some doing—finding a lantern, finding out how to make it work, printing the negatives to glass slides, making a screen.
I served as an informal technical consultant during this phase, so I had some idea of what was going on. But I couldn’t figure out exactly what they were going to do in the show. I couldn’t see the audience appeal, as the slides, though Providence-related, were typical of the black and white images you can find for a dollar or so any day on eBay. It wasn’t until the show itself—held in a little black box theater in the midst of bustling downtown Providence—that I found out what the wonder was.
We had a nice dinner beforehand with the Kent and Marta Wells and Marcin Gizycki, and other Providence friends. The line outside the theater was long (good sign!), the atmosphere friendly and expectant. I rattled the theater door to see what would happen. We had our picture taken by a lovely young lady who seemed to be an expert photographer. I learned that earlier in the day the Historical Society had given a walking tour to see where some of the images were taken. Inside, informality ruled. The MC gave the usual announcements about cell phones, but urged us not to go the to bathroom during the show. The flush, he said, was so loud it would interrupt the program.
Then it was show time. Carolyn and Anya had contacted a writer’s workshop, and arranged for a varied group of writers to look at the images, pick a few, and write a short piece about them. The group had worked on the project for a month. The show consisted of the group’s members reading their stories while the images were being projected. Many of the stories were wonderful. A photo of a man in front of an abandoned greenhouse inspired a story of a wife whose flowers became a symbol for her life and death. A “dog” of a slide—nothing but a statue of a deer—turned out to be evidence of a magical stag who managed to freeze himself into a permanent memorial. One daring young man channeled the Victorian photographer himself, making his “spirit” voice by speaking through a plastic horn. The spirit photographer explained that what looked like a cute little boy holding a dog was actually the first know photograph of a boy chocking a dog with its collar. A picture of a new stone city hall reminded the writer of the days when city hall was made of cake. It’s loss accounted for the slides of children carrying signs saying, “We want a playground!”
You couldn’t call it a polished performance. Yes, there were technical difficulties, and some of the writers were hard to hear. But the show had energy, it had humor, it had suspense, it had pathos, it had authenticity. It had the feeling of a large family horsing around at a picnic.
The audience loved it. Me too.
What does all this have to do with the future of The Magic-Lantern Society?
We’re a vibrant organization at the minute. But too many of us have gray hair or no hair at all. Something has to change, or our days are numbered. Here was a magic-lantern show put together by 20-somethings who were having a great time with the lantern, and seemed eager to learn more.
The expense of collecting has kept a lot of young people from joining the society. But the slides and type of lantern used in Providence could be purchased on eBay for $100. Even better, slides of local historical interest can be found in the historical societies of almost every town in the country. And those same towns are full of 20-somethings.
Providence—“Providence,” get it?— has shown us a model that might be widely applicable. All we have to do is figure out how to replicate it.
Whew! We’ve been taking a brief hiatus since the excitement of last weekend’s performances. It perhaps goes without saying that we were completely blown away by the amazingness of our performers, and the humor, vivacity, and pathos they brought to the interpretation of these historic images. If you didn’t have a chance to catch the performance, the exhibit, “Sympathetic Magic” is still on view at the Providence Public Library. Some pictures can be found at the special collections blog “Notes for Bibliophiles”
More soon!
We are very excited for our show tonight! An important reminder: since the show is completely sold out, ticket-holders should arrive promptly at 7:00 PM. At 7:15 PM, a small block of ticets will be released to those on our wait list on a first come-first served basis. Standing room and floor seating may also be available. If you are on the wait list, please come and line up early!
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
The Wonder Show 