This is a first rough draft, as I felt it more important to get the slides digitized and loaded online for people to enjoy. Once that is complete, the website will be made to look pretty.
The Megalethoscope, or Megalitoscopio, was invented circa 1870 by Carlo Ponti. Each slide has a day time and night time view. By opening the top and side doors, mirrors reflect light onto the front of the slide. When you close the doors, light travels through the slide, creating a breath taking transformation!
We believe this collection was purchased in Venice by my great, great, grand-father's brother, John Riordon, shortly before his death in 1884. Seeing as how the viewer and slides could only have been bought directly from the creator, Carlo Ponti, it is possible that John would have bought the viewer and slides directly from him. These slides have been photographed without the aid of the viewer, which itself is roughly 34" long, 20" wide, and 24" tall. Each slide is 16" x 12" and made up of 4 layers: the Photograph, a Canvas Protective Back, a colour layer and an opacity layer. Learn more about Carlo Ponti and his Megalethoscope.
Below, you may view each slide with an online viewer created with Knight Lab Juxtapose. We hope that you will enjoy viewing these slides as much as we do. Come back often, as we have a lot more slides to digitize and post.