Magic Lantern Slides of Qajar Iran

Collection of 2 Vintage Optical Lantern images of Iran circa 1905. 3 1/4" x 4." The first photo shows a few hundred people attending a funeral, with over twenty people standing in the trees. In the foreground musicians hold tubas and flutes. It is rare to find images of this era with musicians and their instruments. The men in the photo are wearing Qajar-era clothing including long tunics with astrakhan hats and most have beards. The second image shows a man being exposed to a public foot whipping as punishment for a crime. The accused is lying on his back with his feet tied up at an angle to a horizontal post. Men surround around him holding canes, including one extended out and resting on the accused's feet. The men are all dressed in traditional Qajar-era clothing including trousers, waistcoats, sardaris and astrakhan hats. These are positives on a glass lantern, Gelatin silver bromide. In 1850, William and Frederick Langenheim, invented a transparent positive image of a photograph in the form of a glass slide that could be projected onto a wall or screen using a Magic Lantern. Magic lanterns provided one of the most popular forms of entertainment during their heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries. Using an artificial light source and a combination of lenses, these devices enlarged small transparency images or miniature models and projected them onto a wall or screen. Scarce and in very good condition.