BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY 



677 



of the wall upon which the image was exhibited the larger was the image. . . 

 In the third place, the little image in the lantern was inverted in order to 

 exhibit its figure erect upon the opposite wall. If the object was removed there 

 appeared only a circle of light" (vol. ii, p. 655; 2d ed., vol. iii, p. 680). 



Figure 403 is a facsimile of the lantern of Walgensten which he exhibited at 

 Lyons in 1665. A glance at it will show any one that it is in all essential par- 

 ticulars like the modern magic lantern. Indeed such lanterns are much in 

 vogue for Christmas presents at the present time, differing only in having a 

 kerosene lamp with a chimney instead of the naked flame as shown in the 

 original. 



Kircher himself in the second edition of his work, (Ars Magna Lucis et 

 Umbrae, 1671, p. 768-769), claims that the lantern of the Dane is merely a 



. 1 81 



FIG. 405. MOLYNEUX'S MAGIC LANTERN WITH A CONDENSING LENS BEFORE 



THE OBJECT. 



(From Molyneux's Dioptrica Nova, 1692} 



This is the first picture of a magic lantern with a condensing lens that we 

 have found. 



slight modification of the one described by him, but he admits that Walgen- 

 sten's instrument is in better form and has many pictures on a single slide 

 painted in transparent colors that can be shown one after the other. 



Kircher figures his magic lantern, which is here reproduced in facsimile (fig. 

 404) . As pointed out by Neuhauss, it is difficult to see how a picture could be 

 projected by the arrangement shown by Kircher. The text describes the lan- 

 tern as here shown, so both text and figure agree. In Kircher's lantern as 

 figured and described by himself, the object is put at the wrong end of the 

 projection objective; or if the tube and glass shown represent a condenser, 

 which he does not claim, then in that case there is no projection objective. In 

 either case no image could be projected. 



