Magic Lantern Museum

San Antonio's Magic Lantern Castle Museum is dedicated to all things Laterna Magica, or Magic Lantern, and is touted as the largest museum of its type in the world. Heralded as the world’s first slide projector and the “Father of Motion Pictures," the Magic Lantern's first documented use was in the late 1600s.

Functioning by projecting glass slides with hand-painted images, prints, or photographs from behind onto a solid surface, such as a wall, sheet, or curtain, the Magic Lantern was widely utilised first for educational purpose and later for entertainment, until the advent of motion pictures in the 1890s.

Magic Lantern Museum - one of the highlights of 9 Things to Do Off the Beaten Track in San Antonio (Read all about San Antonio here)

Highlights of the Magic Lantern Castle Museum

Items in the Magic Lantern Castle Museum collection include lanterns, books, catalogues, illustrations, photographs, prints, and slides from all over the world spanning an approximately 250-year history. Every item in the collection was lovingly collected and restored by Mr. Jack Judson.

Jack Judson began collecting and restoring Magic Lanterns in 1986, and his private Magic Lantern Castle Museum, which opened in 1992, now hosts a collection of approximately 75,000 of these lanterns and related artefacts for the public. On occasion, patrons have been provided a live demonstration of how the lanterns work.

Good to know about the Magic Lantern Castle Museum

Families will enjoy this amazing step back in time as they peruse the many different lantern designs and variations. The Magic Lantern Castle Museum offers an up-close look at the very first projection technology in the world.

The venue also offers exhibits of other scientific optic projection designs used from the 1700s to the 1900s, as well as other pieces of early technology such as radios and medical devices, some of which were used in medical quackery. The museum also allows access to the collection for research purposes, can accommodate groups, and offers in-house lectures, all with advanced notice.

Location: 1419 Austin Hwy, San Antonio, TX 78209, USA

Phone: +1 210-805-0011

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