Acts Of Projection - Civil War Magic Lantern Slide Show at Drake University

 Although I was not able to visit in person, I was able to connect with Maura Lyons from Drake University about a Magic Lantern show and exhibit that she organized.  

The show is called "Acts Of Projection: Magic Lantern Shows and the U.S. Civil War and it encompasses both the material artifacts of lantern shows – hand-painted slides and period projectors – as well as actual projections to simulate the original viewing experience.

The show which contains about 40 lantern slides.  Most of the show is drawn from a collection she assembled when working on a chapter for a current book project on popular imagery of the U.S. Civil War though the show also has slides loaned from the Brinton Collection at the University of Iowa Libraries and the State Historical Museum of Iowa. 

They also staged a lantern show performed by Michael Zahs before Thanksgiving at a local theater as part of the programming for the exhibition. Michael is the collector/historian featured in the documentary Saving Brinton and all the slides he showed were borrowed from the Brinton Collection for the event.

They are displaying the slides in various ways. They photographed all the slides and are projecting them in  digital format at a large scale on one wall of the gallery.  They also built an artificial wall to hold 18 of the slides, illuminated from behind. The rest, they are placed in cases on stands and lit from below by LED strips.

The following pages are from the catalog produced by the Anderson Gallery at Drake University. The catalog has images of objects from the University of Iowa Libraries — Special Collections and Archives and the State Historical Museum of Iowa.

The following two images were created by the master of Magic Lantern illustration, Joseph Boggs Beale. 

Reference:

• https://calendar.drake.edu/event/acts-of-projection-opening-reception
• https://andersongallery.wp.drake.edu/currentexhibition/
• https://littlevillagemag.com/event/art-exhibition-acts-of-projection/2024-12-17/
• https://www.catchdesmoines.com/event/art-exhibition%3A-acts-of-projection/48844/

The WW2 M3A4 Hand Cart

The M34A utility cart was used by American forces during WW2.  I discovered a New Old Stock (NOS) axle and hardware kit  while cleaning out a relative's garage.  Here is a period image of a cart as used during the second world war.

The kit I found appears to be  in the shape as it shipped from the factory. The wheel hubs were still covered in paper and most of the hardware appeared to be present. 

I filled both tires with air.  They appear to use an innertube. Both held 40 pounds of pressure. 

The kit came with one axle, and then a second axle that had been cut into pieces.  The axle shafts to hold the wheels were still coated in Cosmoline. 

Closeup of parts box with hardware

Closeup of wheels and tires.

The kit came with original assembly instructions. 

Reference:

• https://smallarmsreview.com/the-m3a4-m4a1-hand-cart/
• http://www.90thidpg.us/Reference/Manuals/ORD%209%20SNL%20A-42%20single.pdf
• https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-u-s-wwii-1943-m3a4-utility-hand-cart-by-john-wood-manufacturing-company
• https://daviddoylebooks.com/us-military-vehicles-1945/the-us-military-hand-cart
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/2057926004451925

Searching Ebay By Category

Searching by category is an excellent way to narrow down a specific search or to find items not easily found by the listing description. It's not as easy as it used to be, but it's still possible. Here's how!

So, what is search by category?

Search by category is using Ebay's search functionality to limit search to a specific category.  

For example.. Let's say you have an obsession for Porcelain Cat Figurines and want a porcelain figurine of a  "Persian Cat".  You search "Persian Cat Figurine", but you might miss some listings - i.e. listings where it does not say "cat" or maybe something is misspelled.   What you'd really like to do, is search the category  Ebay -> Collectables & Art -> Animals -> Cats -> Figurines for different keywords. 

However, when you go to the category, Ebay's Search defaults to "All Categories".  

However, you can work around this problem by smart use of the Ebay search URL.

Step 1: Find the category you want to search.  

Browse to the category you want to search.  When you get there, look at the browser bar and note the Category Number after the name.  In the case of porcelain cat figurines, this is category 37855. 

Step 2: Build your search URL.

Using the category, you can build your search URL:

Part1 : The Ebay Search command :   https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?

Part2: Your Search term i.e. "Persian" with _nkw= in front of it.:  _nkw=Persian

Part 3: Your category i.e. "37855" with &_sacat= in front of it :    &_sacat=37855

So, your search URL is : 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Persian&_sacat=37855

Step 3: Paste it into the browser

More Examples:

Here are some common categories and some more example searches:

Magic Lantern Slides:  90696

Sets of Magic Lantern Slides: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Set&_sacat=90696

Primus Magic Lantern Slides: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Primus&_sacat=90696

Photographs: 262421

Tintype Photographs: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Tintype&_sacat=262421

Daguerreotype Photographs: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Daguerreotype &_sacat=262421