Lantern Slides for Early 20th Century Cornell Engineering Instruction: Home

• Lantern slides existed before computer display projectors and 35 mm slide projectors.
• Called hyalotypes, lantern slides were invented by brothers Ernst Wilhelm and Friedrich in 1848 in Philadelphia, patented in 1850.
• Lantern slides were prominent in medicine (X-rays), astronomy, physics.
• Lantern slides could be painted with various colors to enhance them.

Over 400 Lantern slides 4” x 3.25”, 6 canisters of microfilm, 21 smaller slides with equations, lecture notes were donated to Cornell University Library in February 2022. Samples have been uploaded to Box.

•Slides were purchased to aid in teaching students industrial engineering during the 1920s,1930s. 

•Faculty mentioned include Myron A. Lee, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Cornell University and Morris Simon Viteles, Professor of Industrial Engineering, University of Pennsylvania  

•Slides include pictures of steam boilers, milling machines, people operating machinery, people working in factories, automobiles, hiring practices, and equations solving problems.

Who might be interested? Researchers studying:

• history of industrial and labor relations, immigrants, gender studies, industrial psychology
• history of science & technology, history of automobile production
• discriminatory hiring practices
• history of early Cornell engineering classes

Traveling library for factory workers during noon hour.	Calithentics for women at NCR factory
Man reading a book while factory workers roll cigars, Cuba	Aptitude tests for factory workers
Men operating Saw on Island of Cebu	A smaller slide 2" x 2", one of 20, with equations.

More Lantern Slides available at other institutions, see https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/66446

Engineering Education Libguide

Grayson, Lawrence P. The Making of an Engineer: an Illustrated History of Engineering Education in the United States and Canada.

Thank You to those people who helped me identify some images and helped with metadata creation:

• Steven Folsom, Head for Metadata Design & Operations, Cataloging and Metadata Services, Cornell University Library
• Francis Moon, Professor Emeritus, Cornell Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Glenn Swan, Research Support Specialist II and machine shop technician in charge of Olin Hall Machine Shop, Cornell University
• Bonnie Powell, Energy Engineer, National Renewable Energy Lab, Golden, Colorado
• George Petry, Advanced Prototyping Project Manager, Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, Wisconsin, formerly of Cornell’s Emerson Manufacturing Teaching Lab
• Martin Joseph Sullivan, Machinist, MJ Sullivan Machine Repair and former head of the machine shop, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Vicky Wang, Reference Assistant, Management Library, Cornell University

--Jill Powell, Engineering Librarian, Cornell University