Shining Lights: Magic Lanterns and the Missionary Movement, 1839—1868

Visual Variation

Comparing extant examples of Carpenter and Westley sliders to their descriptions in the catalog reveals the nature and degree of variation among extant sets. As a mechanical means to reproduce images, copperplate-printing ensured a high degree of continuity in the composition of the images. Trevor Beattie has performed the most extensive study of variations among extant Carpenter and Westley copperplate printed sets and the material through which to study their manufacture.[1] Differences among images in the sliders tend to fall into two categories: updated engravings and individual painting styles.



The catalog indicates that Carpenter and Westley drew heavily from illustrations in print for the other lecture series. The Kings of England lecture set, for example, copied the composition of Thomas Cadwell’s illustrations for David Hume’s History of England. The mirroring effect is probably a result of the engraving process. Like many of Carpenter and Westley’s sliders, the Kings of England, natural history, and scriptural sliders often forgo background scenery. This not only reduced the time it took to paint slides, but it also throws the figure into sharper relief. Unlike the Kings of England set, the images in the scriptural lantern lecture have no identifiable antecedent in print, so it is unclear to what extent they remediate a particular artists’ vision of these scenes. Extant examples of the scriptural sliders indicate that there were at least 53 different engravings used to produce the lecture. While they may not be considered particularly well-executed, both in their drawing and colorization, they do draw from the rich visual vocabulary of typological tradition religious painting and illustration. In this case, visual parallels between scenes from the New Testament and the Old Testament images convey the fulfillment of the covenant of works in the covenant of grace. It’s unclear if Williams had a complete set of sliders, since he omits any mention of stories from the Old Testament. Whether they were present or absent in Williams’ lantern show, I argue that the scenes from the Old Testament frame the set’s overall emphasis on covenant theology.

Scenes from the Old Testament

Carpenter and Westley revised the Old Testament portion of the set more heavily than the scenes from the life of Christ. Twelve engravings were used continuously over the course of the set’s production. The table below visualizes changes made to the engraved images used in the Old Testament sequence of scenes by comparing the set in the Willem A. Wagenaars' Christiaan Huygens Theater Collection to a set in my own care. These alterations include five re-engraved scenes; those titles appear in green. The sliders also indicate that some scenes were replaced entirely, for five images do not appear in all sets. These titles appear in blue. Despite these variations, all versions maintain the sequence’s overall emphasis on covenant theology, though they vary in their sentimentality.
 
Title of the Scene Ton Set Willem A. Wagenaars' Christiaan Huygens Theater Collection Set
Adam and Eve driven out of Paradise
Hagar and Ishmael
Abram offering Isaac 
Rebecca at the Well 
Jacob stealing Esau's birthright 
Joseph sold into Egypt
Joseph meeting his father
The finding of Moses
The Ark of the Covenant
The Dress of the High Priest
The Altar of Incense
The Altar of Burnt Offering
An Aaronite or Scribe
The Golden Candlestick
Return of the Spies
The Brazen Serpent
Balaam and his Ass
Samson and the Lion
Esther before Ahasuerus 
Hannah, Samuel, and Eli 
The Infant Samuel
Elijah fed by Ravens
David and Goliath
David dancing before the Ark
Nathan reproving David

Though my focus in this case study will be the slides mentioned explicitly in Williams’ letter, there are a few features of the Old Testament portion of the set that merit a brief discussion. In preparation for the life of Christ slides, the scenes from the Old Testament bring two strands of doctrine to the fore: the concept of predestination and means of atonement. The Old Testament sliders depict Israel as God’s elect, particularly in its representation of Abraham’s family. The image of Hagar and Ishmael being sent away (and its revised version) emphasizes Isaac as the favored son. Other scenes, such as Esther before Ahasuerus, the Infant Samuel, and Elijah being fed by ravens, portray God providing for his elect. The lecture also includes moments of sacrifice and redemption that foreshadow Christ’s crucifixion, including the sacrifice of Isaac, Moses being rescued from the Nile, and the Brazen Serpent. This interest in the redemption is further advanced by sliders three and four that depict Tabernacle worship. Proportionally, the lecture devotes the most time to this sustained sequence that representations of priests, scribes, and holy objects, thereby portraying the sacrificial system as the principal means of atonement before Christ. I would argue that there’s also a marketing ploy at work here, for the content of these images parallels other lectures produced by Carpenter and Westley on ancient costumes.[2] These images are among the most visually stunning in the set, for the opaque black paint surrounding the priests and scribes makes their garb seem all the more colorful. This visual and narrative strategy caters to a Victorian taste for the exotic through a virtual encounter with the priest. The scripture references that accompany each of these images suggests that the narrator would have focused on the priest’s garments and details of the furniture. This narration would have objectified the priests and scribes, limiting any kind of imagined interaction between the audience and the the figures on screen.

The re-engraved images have the opposite effect. The alternate images not only improve the quality of the sliders but also increase the pathos of each scene. In the first iteration of the scene depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden of Eden, they are being chased by a rather gleeful angel with their heads in their hands. The revised version of the scene focuses on Adam and Eve cowering in the darkness. Without the flaming sword, this scene registers less as a moment of judgement and more as a harbinger of future redemption. The slide painter has added tendrils of lightning; Adam and Eve’s gaze toward the light suggests that their relationship with God has not been broken completely. Similarly, the first version of the Hagar and Ishmael includes Abraham, whose smile undermines the gravitas of this moment. The second version eliminates all traces of domesticity, for the portico in the first is replaced by a desolate desert background. Hagar and Ishmael are at the point of fainting from hunger, thirst, and fatigue. I would suggest that this image functions as a melodramatic tableaux in the ways that it captures characters at the moment of greatest peril, mere seconds before their rescue. (Spoiler alert: God sent an angel to point Hagar and Ishmael to a nearby well.) Giving such pathetic appeal to Hagar and Ishmael heightens the drama of Abraham sacrificing Isaac in the subsequent scene. The Old Testament portion of the lecture set focuses on sacrifice, atonement, and redemption—themes that ultimately play out in the scenes depicting the life of Christ.[3]

Scenes from the Life of Christ

Whereas Carpenter and Westley changed their selection of scenes from the Old Testament over the course of the lantern lecture’s production, the New Testament sliders maintained a fixed set of scenes from the life of Christ, meaning that variations in this portion of the set are limited to re-engravings and painting styles. Unlike the Old Testament sliders, the re-engravings do not dramatically alter the tone of the scenes that they depict. Instead, their primary purpose is to mitigate any inadvertent comedic effect elicited by a poorly drawn slide. Comparing sliders in the Willem A. Wagenaars’ Christiaan Huygens Theater Collection to partial and complete sets in the my care enables me to survey differences in painting techniques. Painting slides was, quite literally, a cottage industry. Trevor Beattie has uncovered the names of several painters through census records. Records of these artists are difficult to find, but based on the ones that can be identified, Beattie suggests that these artists tended to work from home and typically practiced another artistic skill in addition to slide painting.[4] It is likely that Carpenter and Westley commissioned one of these slide painters to create martyrological slides based on plates in Foxe’s Actes and Monuments for Walker to present to Williams. The copperplate-printed outlines in the scriptural set lent a degree of consistency to the image, but each slide had to be painted by hand, causing significant variations in color choice, level of detail, and the amount of scenery included.

Three versions of slider number 10 encapsulate the kinds of visual variations in commercially produced sets of scriptural slides more generally. Carpenter and Westley’s catalog indicates that this slider contained three images: Christ stilling the tempest, the Good Samaritan, and the Lord of the Vineyard and the Labourer. It begins a sequence of parables that continues onto the next slide and ends with the return of the Prodigal Son. The parables are bookended by two miracles performed on the sea.
The first image in this slider, Christ stilling the tempest, was re-engraved at some point in the lecture set’s production. The early version is arguably more dramatic. The precarious arc of the waves leap over the sides of the boat. Christ’s robe billows theatrically behind him, whipping in the wind of the tempest. In his rush to convey the wind and the waves, the engraver presents the boat and the figures in it at an odd angle. The perspective is neither parallel or from above but appears to be both simultaneously, causing Christ to appear as if he is hovering on the surface of the boat.[5] The second version of this image, seen in the slider below, is much more restrained. The straight line of the boat’s side rectifies the issue of perspective, and the perpendicular angle that it forms with the ship’s mast is paralleled by Christ’s posture, outstretched arm, and not-so-billowy robe. The rigid composition of this engraving introduces a sense of order. 
The lantern lecture then transitions from describing Christ’s authority over nature to his moral teachings with three parables, beginning with the Good Samaritan. This particular engraving was used throughout the lecture set’s production. The bucolic setting of this scene gave artists the opportunity to exercise their landscape painting skills; the artists who painted the slide above and the slide below relished adding details to the leaves and texture to the grass. The subtle differences between the foreground and background foliage create a sense of depth not present in other versions of this image.

The third image on this slider, the parable of the Lord of the Vineyard and the Labourer, was not only re-engraved but also offered individual artists the opportunity to add their own scenery. Whereas other artists filled in the background with black paint or with a non-descript curtain, the painter of the set in the Willem A. Wagenaars’ Christiaan Huygens Theater Collection tended to add latticework screens, for the rattan walls make a reappearance in that set’s image of the disciples at Emmaus.

Christ’s crucifixion

When compared to other images in this lantern lecture, the depiction of Christ on the cross is remarkably consistent across all sets. The engraving was used continuously throughout the set’s production, making the basic outline of the image the same for all sets. Painters could have included scenery or added their own, but they all chose to surround Christ with opaque black paint. This would have created a sharp contrast between the illuminated figure on screen and the pitch-black space inhabited by the audience, an effect which I analyze in further detail here. Where these sets differ is the amount of blood; artists adjusted how graphic this scene appear through the elision or inclusion of blood. The slider below presents a relatively tame version of this image. Although it’s badly damaged from heat, the paint that remains shows that the painters did not add blood. The artist also simplified his loincloth, masking the top of Christ’s thighs and adding a degree of modesty.
The painter of the slide in the Willem A. Wagenaars' Christiaan Huygens Theater Collection chose a lighter color for the cross in order to create a stronger contrast between the pale wood and Christ’s blood, which not only trickles down his side but also stains the cross.
The most graphic example is only visible when illuminated. The painter of this slide added drops of blood to the wound in Christ’s side. The splash of blood on Christ’s neck serves as evidence of the crown of thorns, which is not clearly visible in this engraving.
Williams did not shy away from violence, especially since he requested images of Protestant martyrs dying gruesome deaths. To echo the graphic content of other portions of Williams' lecture, I have chosen to use this third image in my recreation of the visual component of his lecture, as seen here.
[1] “Carpenter and Westley—Their History and Artistry.” The New Magic Lantern Journal, vol. 11, no. 4, March 2013. pp. 6-10.
[2] Granville Ganter discusses the ancient costume sliders in “Mistress of Her Art: Anne Laura Clarke, Traveling Lecturer of the 1820s”. The New England Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 4, December 2014. DOI: 10.1162/TNEQ_a_00418
[3] For an extended discussion on these themes in the New Testament portion of the lecture, see “‘A Light to Lighten the Gentiles.’”
[4] Beattie, pp. 9-10.
[5] Early versions of the Trial of Peter exhibit the same artistic exuberance and mistakes. The robes of Peter and Jesus come alive in the wind, but Christ’s limbs appear to be contorted at impossible angles. It too was re-engraved.

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