Lantern Slides and Diagram Maps

These were an important part of the 'Pictorial Method' which was discussed at the meeting where the GA was created. They had been around for some time before the GA was formed, being in use from around 1850. They were used with a powerful lantern, which projected an image onto a screen or wall at a larger scale for an audience to view.
I have some smaller format lantern slides, which date from the middle part of the 20th Century, so they don't have any great age, but are of interest nevertheless.
In the late 1890s, the Royal Mail introduced postcards, and these were also used by teachers as a resource for a while.

The photography of Francis Frith was influential at the time, and Peter Fox (who will appear in a future post) has suggested that he was one of the early 'promoters' of Geography. To begin with, the GA encouraged the sharing of lantern slides, but also realised that there was a market for some ready-made sets of slides. This was done using a company, which was set up for the purpose.


The Diagram Company was set up in the early 20th century.

They produced sets of Lantern slides, and associated lesson materials.
This relationship with the GA continued until the late 1930s, when the company was closed.

Peter Fox wrote about this period in an article for 'Geography' in 2005, which also identified a range of other images which were used at the time.
At the 125th Anniversary conference in Sheffield, an exhibition of lantern slides was available for delegates to browse and a set of cards has also been made available for purchase from the GA shop featuring images from the archive.

References
Descriptions by Douglas Freshfield:

Peter Fox article:
FOX, PETER S. “Images in Geography — Great Expectations.” Geography, vol. 90, no. 1, 2005, pp. 3–17. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40574025

LYDE, L. W. “THE TEACHING OF GEOGRAPHY AS A SUBJECT OF COMMERCIAL INSTRUCTION.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 4, no. 4, 1908, pp. 163–168. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41552643.
Image: Slide from GA Collection - used in the 125th Anniversary collection.