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Faith in a Beam of Light
MPHS
Magic Lantern and Belief in Western Europe, 1860–1940
natalija m ajsova is an assistant professor of cultural studies at the University of Ljubljana. She was a postdoctoral researcher in the B-magic consortium (Université catholique de Louvain) between 2018 and 2020. Her research interests range from theories of culture and aesthetics, and memory studies to science fiction studies and (post-)Soviet film studies.
Cover illustration: ‘Pastorale de Noël’ (Maison de la Bonne Presse, 30 slides, 1911). (Courtesy: Collection Bart G. Moens).
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e d i t e d b y s a b i n e l e n k a n d n a t a l i j a m a j s o va
s a bi n e l en k (Universiteit van Antwerpen and Université libre de Bruxelles) is a film and media scholar. She has worked for film archives in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, UK, and the Netherlands. As one of the co-authors of the eos-research project B-magic, she conducts research on the educative role of the lantern in religious communities and spiritual circles. Together with Frank Kessler and Martin Loiperdinger she is a co-founder and co-editor of kintop, kintopSchriften, and kintop – Studies in Early Cinema.
Faith in a Beam of Light
An early visual mass medium, the magic lantern was omnipresent in most Western societies between 1880 and 1930. The Christian Church, especially the Catholics, spiritual associations such as the Freemasons, political interest groups, and teaching institutions, all made use of lectures enriched by projected images to disseminate information, convictions, and doctrines. Moreover, the lantern often featured as a concealed aid in stage spectacles. Eighteen authors analyse the effects of 'the beam of light in the dark' in the context of religion, faith, and belief. Attention is paid to the wide spectrum of locations where projections took place, as well as to the lantern’s impressive versatility. The lavishly illustrated chapters collected in this volume range from analyses of religious propaganda to fundraising lectures for missionary work in China, from the fight against alcoholism to the secularisation of society, and from the lantern’s application in spiritualist sessions to its use in science and teaching.
MEDI A PER FOR M A NCE H I S T O R I ES
Techne
Knowledge, Technique, and Material Culture
Faith in a Beam of Light Magic Lantern and Belief in Western Europe, 1860–1940 edi t ed by s a bi n e len k a n d nata li ja m ajs ova