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The tea-tax-tempest, or the Anglo-American revolution

The tea-tax-tempest, or the Anglo-American revolution

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Summary

A satire expressing a Continental European view of the American Revolution, showing Father Time using a magic lantern to project the image of a teapot exploding among frightened British troops as American troops advance through the smoke. In the midst of the smoke is a "Gallic cock" seated on a bellows fanning the flames beneath the teapot. Figures representing world opinion look on: an Indian for America, a black woman representing Africa, a woman holding a lantern symbolizing Asia, and a woman bearing a shield for Europe.

The lantern slides first produced for the 17th century's “magic lantern” devices. The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name Lanterna Magica, an image projector that used pictures on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source, used for entertainment. The earliest slides for magic lanterns consisted of hand-painted images on glass, made to amuse their audiences. After the invention of photography, lantern slides began to be produced photographically as black-and-white positive images, created with the wet collodion or a dry gelatine process. Photographic slides were made from a base piece of glass, with the emulsion (photo) on it, then a matte over that, and then a top piece of a cover glass. Sometimes, colors have been added by hand, tinting the images. Lantern slides created a new way to view photography: the projection of the magic lantern allowed for a large audience. Photographic lantern slides reached the peak of their popularity during the first third of the 20th century impacting the development of animation as well as visual-based education.

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Date

01/01/1778
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Contributors

Guttenberg, Carl, 1743-1790, engraver
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Source

Library of Congress
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Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

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