Memories of a Lost World:
Travels through the Magic Lantern

Travel to a forgotten world

Memories of a Lost World: Travels through the Magic Lantern takes you on a fascinating journey back through time to a pre-globalized world where regional customs 
and national cultures were as distinctive as they were diverse. From the bustling streets of Victorian London and the ruins of ancient Egypt to the temples of Japan and the tribesmen of New Guinea, this publication explores the world through a captivating collection of over 800 magic lantern slide images.

A trip through the magic lantern

From the 1870s to the 1930s, photographic magic lantern slide shows were a popular, entertaining and educative way for people to learn about the world beyond their own 
shores. From Cairo and Delhi to Adelaide and Cape Town, intrepid photographers travelled to all corners of the world to document its peoples and customs. For the first time these images have been brought together in a single publication and the result is a beautiful yet poignant echo 
of a lost world that at the same time conveys a powerful sense of shared humanity.

History through images

Memories of a Lost World: Travels through the Magic Lantern is an important source of primary historical information, which precisely and beautifully documents what the world was like before the advent of television and mass travel.

About the author

Charlotte Fiell studied at the British Institute (Florence), Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts (London) and Sotheby’s Educational Studies (London). Together with her husband, Peter, she has written and edited over 30 internationally bestselling books on design.

Additional introduction written by the acclaimed historical and cultural geographer, James R. Ryan, Associate Professor of Historical and Cultural Geography at the University of Exeter.