No magic lantern show consisted of slides alone: there were always elements like music, audience participation or the spoken word. Especially in the later nineteenth century, many slide producers published ‘readings’ giving a recitation, story or lecture to accompany the slide images.
The Society’s Readings Library project, launched in 1995, collects copies of surviving readings and sheet music. The Library currently comprises 2,950 items.
Access to the Library
Society members can download PDF copies of all items in the Library free of charge, using their member’s username and password – search or browse for the reading you want and follow the links (some online copies are not yet ready, but can be added quickly).
For any other information about ordering copies please Contact usAdding to the Library
If you have any readings or songs not already in the Library and can let us have a copy, we would be glad to hear from you – but before you copy or send anything, please contact us.
Disclaimer:
Some items in the Readings Library include terms which are now considered racially offensive. The Magic Lantern Society does not support or approve of such attitudes, and the inclusion of this material is simply a verbatim reproduction of text from a different historical period.
