WSC Instruction Lantern Slides

WSC Instruction Lantern Slides, circa 1890-1949

Overview of the Collection

Title: WSC Instruction Lantern Slides
Dates: circa 1890-1949 (inclusive)
18901949
Quantity: 1.5 Linear feet of shelf space, (4 boxes), (Approximately 330 images)
Collection Number: PC 153 (collection)
Summary: Lantern slides were originally introduced in 1849; they were photographs printed onto glass plates for projection onto a wall or screen for viewing. At Washington State University (then College) lantern slides were commonly used for classroom instruction from the earliest days of the school up into the 1940s and 1950s, using either commercially produced slides or slides created either by the professor or the school’s media department. This collection consists of a variety of small collections of glass lantern slides, most likely used for educational purposes between 1892 and 1950.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open and available for research use.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

At Washington State University (then College) lantern slides were commonly used for classroom instruction from the earliest days of the school up into the 1940s and 1950s, using either commercially produced slides or slides created either by the professor or the school’s media department. Lantern slides were originally introduced in 1849; they were photographs printed onto glass plates for projection onto a wall or screen for viewing. They became ubiquitous in classroom use following the development of the electric light. The majority of the slides in this collection were probably created or collected for classroom use.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of a variety of small collections of glass lantern slides, most likely used for educational purposes between 1892 and 1950.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] WSC Instruction Lantern Slides, ca. 1890-1949 (PC 153)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The images are arranged in a number of series which reflect the original series they were either created in or used in, as best as we could tell. Within those series, slides are ordered numerically if a numbering system exists on them, but otherwise mostly unordered. These numbers were likely either an order of display created by the instructor who compiled them, or an inventory number/sequence applied by the company which created them. If another system of ordering exists for a series, it is noted within the description for that series below.

Acquisition Information

Most of the slides in this collection were received at the Washington State University Libraries’ Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) at an unknown date prior to 1998, and retained without an accession number. Most likely the majority of them were held in the Libraries’ Audio-Visual Services department, and transferred to MASC ca. 1992 when that department was split into what is now Academic Media Services (AMS) and the Libraries’ Media, Materials, and Reserves (MMR). The slides in the Northwest Power series and the Palouse River series were received at MASC from the Department of Civil Engineering on June 7, 1983, and retained without an accession number.

Processing Note

This collection was processed and re-housed by University Archivist Mark O’English and Katrina Burch between June and August of 2012.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description
Box
1	Agricultural extension. Produced by International Harvester Co., Chicago, IL. Approx. 20 slides.
1	Decorating Low Cost Houses. 1948-1949. WSC Home Economics Department. 20 slides and a 2-page descriptive text, written by WSC professor Ruth M. Smith, depicting interior decoration for two experimental low-cost GI housing units at WSC. Two slides, B3 and B6 were missing at time of precessing.
1	Early northwest scenes. 13 slides of drawn or painted scenes depicting historic inland northwest places of events.
1	Mining. 33 slides, apparently used for mining instruction. The first 9 are identified Montana locations (Anaconda, Butte, Great Falls), but the remaining 24 are identified.
2	Northwest power. Chelan. 1 image.
2	Northwest power. Rock Island. 3 images.
2	Northwest power. Skagit powerhouse. 20 images.
2	Northwest power. Spokane Falls. 2 images.
2	Palouse River (downtown Pullman) flow models and flood (1935) images. 12 slides.
2-3	Panama Canal construction. Produced by Victor Animatograph Co., Davenport, IA. Approx. 40 slides.
3	Roads. Produced by Office of Public Roads, USDA, Washington, DC. 15 slides.
3	Roads and bridges. Produced by Victor Animatograph Co., Davenport, IA. Approx. 30 slides.
3-4	Roads, bridges, transportation. Produced by Enterprise Mfg., Portland, OR. Approx. 35 slides.
4	Silk production. Produced by Keystone View Co. Factories, Meadville, PA. Approx. 45 slides.
4	Sluices (primarily inland northwest). 11 slides.
4	Small bridges and dams (primarily inland northwest). Approx. 35 slides.
4	Washington State College Audio-Visual Center instructional slides. 5 slides and a 3-page descriptive text.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Lantern slides.
Visual education.

Corporate Names

State College of Washington.
Washington State University.

Other Creators

Corporate Names
- State College of Washington. (creator)

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