A glimpse into early 20th century entertainment

At the start of the 20th century, entertainment wasn’t an easily accessible flicker on a screen; it was an immersive experience that required imagination and inspired delight. Two seemingly simple artifacts in the Dr. Woods House Museum capture this spirit: a magic lantern and a handheld stereoscope. Both provide a window into the early 1900s—a time before television and smartphones—when oil-lit images and static 3D scenes captivated audiences young and old.  

Magic lantern 

The magic lantern is an early form of a slide or film projector and was a marvel of its time. Using an oil lamp, lens and a set of hand-painted glass slides, it cast images onto a wall or screen, creating a glowing visual spectacle. The lantern provided both education and entertainment, bringing people together and bridging the gap between live storytelling, early photography and cinema. 

The slides in our care at the Dr. Woods House Museum with this lantern depict vibrant illustrations of activities like sailing and bicycling and depictions of architectural landmarks from around the world.  

The primary conservation priorities lie with the delicate slides and the lantern’s metal body. The slides are designed with ink that could fade if exposed to too much light. Each slide requires careful cleaning with non-abrasive materials, and they must be stored between layers of acid-free paper to avoid scratches and smudges. The lantern itself must be protected from rust or corrosion to preserve its structural integrity. Fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels can accelerate deterioration, so the lantern needs to be stored in a stable environment. 

Handheld stereoscope 

The stereoscopic viewer, a handheld device accompanied by a collection of image cards, was another form of entertainment in the early 1900s. Viewed through dual lenses, each card—comprised of two nearly identical images—would transform, allowing viewers to see the image in three dimensions and experience an unprecedented sense of immersion. 

The cards that accompany this stereoscope include images of coral, gardens in Spain and sheepherding among the olives in Italy. For many people at the time, it was the closest they would ever come to experiencing other places around the world.  

The stereoscope is made primarily of wood with an aluminum hood stamped with a decorative design and featuring a brown velvet trim for added comfort and aesthetic appeal. The lenses are fragile, easily scratched or smudged, which requires careful handling and cleaning. It will be wrapped in acid-free tissue paper to prevent dust accumulation and stored in an acid-free box blocked with internal foam supports to prevent movement. The image cards, comprised of photomechanical prints on paper, are susceptible to discolouration and acidification. They need to be stored flat in acid-free paper sleeves to ensure they are not bent or warped.   

Preserving more than the physical artifacts 

The lantern and stereoscope embody the spirit of the early 20th century innovation and imagination. Preserving these artifacts is about more than just maintaining their physical integrity. It means safeguarding the stories they tell and the sense of wonder they evoked in a world with no electricity or screens and where entertainment required more than the press of a button.  

Under the care of the City of Leduc’s culture and heritage team, these artifacts are entering a new phase of conservation to ensure that future generations can experience their unique enchantment and envision a world wholly offline. 

Inventory Integrity: Inventory work is essential to collection stewardship and is an ongoing process that can never be counted done. Maintaining a current and accurate inventory of all artifacts is essential to protecting items from deterioration, using storage space, tracking objects as they move, and ensuring the physical items and their records are accessible.  

Share Your Thoughts: The City of Leduc is looking for your input on museum and heritage asset management. Feedback will be considered in the City’s long-term planning decisions about how to sustainably operate and manage the Dr. Woods House Museum and other heritage assets in our community. Register online and join us for an in-person session on Nov. 18 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Leduc Public Library. 

*The museum currently remains closed for public access to allow staff to focus on the collection.