Magic Lantern - Once upon a time....

Once upon a time........

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

.......there lived in Germany two brothers who should give the world a lot of stories. Stories that had been handed down from parent to child for many generations. There names are Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, but usually we simply call them The Brothers Grimm. They certainly were not the first German writers who were engaged in fairy tales and also did not invent their stories themselves like Hans Christian Andersen did, but unlike other authors they worked very consistent at a comprehensive collection of fairy tales and children's legends. Between 1812 and 1822 they wrote their 'Kinder- und Hausmärchen', collections of folk songs and folktales, generally known as Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Once upon a time...

......... there lived a sweet little girl, who was beloved by every one who saw her. One day her grandmother presented the girl with a red velvet cap and as it fitted her very well, she would never wear anything else. One day her mother said to her, 'Come on, Little Red Riding hood, here is a piece of nice meat, and a bottle of wine: take these to your grandmother; she is ill and weak, and will relish them.'

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Slides: Six 3" diameter round hand coloured glass magic lantern slides mounted three each, into two wooden frames measuring 3 3/4" x 14".
One glass strip of a set of twelve, made by Johann Falk, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring various fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900.

....... there lived an old Goat who had seven young ones whom she loved as every mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest to fetch some food, so calling her seven young ones together, she said, 'Dear children, I am going away into the wood; be on your guard against the Wolf, for if he comes here, he will eat you all up - skin, hair and all.'

THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE GOATS
Slides: Richard Ross, Dresden, Germany, ca 1890. Two of a set of eight. 3.25" square (8,3 cm).

....... there dwelt near a large wood a poor woodcutter, with his wife and two children by his former marriage, a little boy called Hansel, and a girl named Grethel. He had little enough to break or bite; and once, when there was a great famine in the land, he could not procure even his daily bread; and as he lay thinking in his bed one evening, rolling about for trouble, he sighed, and said to his wife, 'What will become of us?'

HANSEL AND GRETHEL
Slides: Two glass strips of a set of twelve, made by Gebrüder Bing, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring six fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900. Published in many formats. Title on box: 'Märchenbilder, Comtes de Fees, Fairy Tales No 9275 - 12x'.
One glass strip of a set of twelve, made by Johann Falk, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring various fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900.
Two long glass strips featuring Hansel und Gretel made bij Ernst Plank. Serie F.


....... the wife of a certain rich man fell very ill, and as she felt her end drawing nigh she called her only daughter to her bedside, and said, 'My dear child, be pious and good, and then the good God will always protect you.' When winter came her father took to himself another wife. This wife brought home with her two daughters, who were beautiful and fair in the face, but treacherous and wicked at heart. Then an unfortunate era began in the poor step-child's life. She was obliged to work hard from morning to night, and to go out early to fetch water, to make the fire, and cook and scour.


	CINDERELLA Slides: Two of a set of twelve square 3.25 inch slides in original box, sold by Millikin & Lawley, London, (1860-190?). Four slides from a set of twelve 3.25" x 3.25"slides. The slides are marked: 1- Opening Credit; 2- Cinderella dressing her sisters for the ball; 3- The Cinder wench; 4- The appearance of Fairy Godmother; 5- Cinderella with the rat trap; 6- The departure for the ball; 7- The arrival at the Palace; 8- The Prince waiting for Cinderella; 9- Cinderella in the ballroom; 10- The flight; 11- Fitting of the glass slipper; 12- The Bride. Three slides from set 765 from the Primus Junior Lecturers Series.

The Huntsman listened and took the maiden away, but when he drew out his knife to kill her, she began to cry, saying, 'Ah, dear Huntsman, give me my life! I will run into the wild forest, and never come home again.'
....... in the depth of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the clouds, a Queen sat at her palace window, which had an ebony black frame, stitching her husbands shirts. While she was thus engaged and looking out at the snow she pricked her finger and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. Because the red looked so well upon the white, she thought to herself, 'Had I now but a child as white as this snow, as red as this blood, and as black as the wood of this frame!' Soon afterwards a littke daughter was born to her, who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and white hair as ebony, and thence she was named 'Snowwhite' and when the child was born the mother died.

LITTLE SNOW-WHITE
Slides: Large glass slide made in Germany about 1850 - 1870. It measures about 11” x 3 ½” (28 x 9 cm) and shows four wonderful colour pictures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – each measuring about 2 ½” x 3”. Very detailed art work!
One glass strip of a set of twelve, made by Johann Falk, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring various fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900.
Two glass strips of a set of twelve, made by Gebrüder Bing, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring six fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900. Published in many formats. Title on box: 'Märchenbilder, Comtes de Fees, Fairy Tales No 9275 - 12x'.

....... there lived a King and Queen, who lamented day by day that they had no children, and yet never a one was born. .... when a little girl was born the King ordered a great feast to be held, and invited to it not only his relatives, friends and acquaintances, but also all the wise women, who are kind and affectionate to children. There happened to be thirteen in his dominions, but since he had only twelve golden plates out of which they could eat, one had to stop at home.


THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Slides: Two glass strips of a set of twelve, made by Gebrüder Bing, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring six fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900. Published in many formats. Title on box: 'Märchenbilder, Comtes de Fees, Fairy Tales No 9275 - 12x'. Set of six magic lantern slides measuring 10 x 8 cm with square images, partly the same as on the set above. Manufacturer unknown; possibly also made by Bing. Below a long glass magic lantern slide from an unknown manufacturer.



....... there lived a tailor who had three sons. The eldest had gone apprentice to a joiner and when his time was out, his master presented him with a table, which had certainly a very ordinary appearance, but it had one excellent quality: - If its owner placed it before him and said, 'Table cover thyself,' the good table was at once covered with a fine cloth, and plates, and knives and forks, and dishes of roast and baked meat took their places on it, and a great glass filled with red wine, which gladdened one's heart.

THE TABLE, THE ASS, AND THE STICK Slides: Two round images of a glass strip. Decalcomania. Ernst Plank, Germany. Marked 'Taf IV'. One glass strip of a set of twelve, made by Johann Falk, Nuremberg, Germany, featuring various fairy tales. Decalcomania, ca 1900.
MISCELLANEOUS. Ten magnificent magic lantern slides showing various fairy tales, probably from a larger set of slides. The manufacturer is unknown. Size: approx 8,2 x 8,2 cm or in inches 3,23" x 3,23". Snow-white and the Hunter are also depicted on the long slide above:





Another two beautiful magic lantern slides after Grimm's fairy tales. The first fairy tale is unknown to me, the second is Sleeping Beauty. These slides are the unusual size of 12 x 12 cm (4.72 in x 4.72 in).

See also: Little Red Riding Hood. See also: Just a lot of magic lantern slides depicting famous fairy tales.