Magic Lanterns and The Paris Exposition of 1867

There are so many gems in this book that it's difficult to know where to start. The book contains within it evidence of major events and movements in the 19th century, including the temperance movement and the Paris Exposition of 1867.

Our original owner was Florence Horn in 1897, and it was given to her for attendance at Sunday School. Vines Sunday School was in Rochester, England which is in Kent, a bit southeast of London. The only mention I could find of the place was for an event held there on February 1, 1883. F. F. Beasley, Esquire, presented a lecture there:

"In the Vines Lecture-room, on February 1st. The subject was 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and was illustrated by dissolving views by the aid of the oxy-hydrogen lime light, exhibited by Mr. J. Edwards, R. A. of Plumstead. There was a crowded audience, including many of the Band of Hope children. The touching incidents in the life of 'Uncle Tom' were vividly portrayed, and many of the audience were visibly affected. The views were very clear and brilliant, and were appreciated. At the conclusion of the lecture, views of the Niagara falls, &c. were shown; statuary and comic pictures were also thrown upon the screen, the latter especially delighting the juveniles."

This was part of a "magic lantern" lecture series that apparently travelled throughout the UK. Magic lanterns were a popular form of entertainment at the time, and even garnered a mention in the poem from which this website gets its title, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: "as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen".

A diagram of a magic lantern

The magic lantern was an early projector that used painted plate glass to project images onto a screen. By 1883, the technology had developed to show moving pictures, often of landscapes dissolving into night. These were popular shows that travelled throughout England.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a famous anti-slavery novel, was the best-selling novel of the 19th century, and 2nd best selling book after the Bible. It was widely read at the time, and was translated into the magic lantern medium as early as 1853. For those interested, you can read a full script of the show that would have been put on at the Vines Sunday School lecture hall in 1883 here.

As our Florence Horn was attending Sunday School in 1897, however, it's unlikely she was born when this performance came through. The "Band of Hope" was a temperance movement targeting the working class children that was a national union. Members learned about the "evils of drink" and took a pledge of total abstinence.

According to the Museums Victoria collection:

"Many Bands' of Hope associated with Churches and temperance classes were often run in conjunction with Sunday School. The Band of Hope targeted children of parents who wanted their children to be educated and have a secure future. It was seen by many adults as a way to develop self-reliant working men who could use temperance as a route to self improvement.

To encourage children to join and remain members, groups held annual outings, tea meetings, offered music lessons, established orchestras and produced newspapers whose content promoted temperance. Meetings began with a temperance hymn, prayers and the chairman's speech, this was followed by music, recitations, readings and pledge signing."

Florence might have had a card that looked like this:

This also tells us that Florence was likely the child of a working class family in Kent right before the turn of the century.

The man who gave the lecture on Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1883 was F.F. Belsey at the Vines Sunday School. He was also the chairman of the Rochester School Board. I found another mention of a Florence Horn in the Chatham News on December 26, 1891 for being top of her class in reading and geography:

Here it says that F.F. Belsey, the Chairman of the school board, presided over the apparently delightful affair, the same man who gave the lecture at the Vines Sunday School. It seems likely that this is the same Florence Horn and that she almost certainly knew this F.F. Belsey, who presided over the education of the children of Rochester. He was featured in this digest:

He was listed as a witness, and included a great deal of information on the truancy of children from his schools, and the likelihood that they would turn to lives of crime.

Obviously, F.F. Belsey was extremely involved in both the church and in education, and in their confluence in Sunday Schools. Florence Horn was a product of this environment. I believe her full name was Florence Louise Horn and that she was christened in St. Peters, Kent in 1884. This means she would have been 7 when she was top of the class at put in the papers, and 13 when she was attending Vines Sunday School. By 1901, the census had her working as a laundry maid at the age of 17. By age 27, she was still unmarried and doing laundry work.

Souvenir of the Exposition Universelle de 1867

This card was inside of the book, with the year 1867 on it. Strangely, the book doesn't have a publication date on it. It was published by the Sunday School Union, which does suggest that it might have been given directly to Frances Horn. So why did L. E. Haden have the book in 1867, and in Paris no less? Perhaps the book itself was never in Paris, but only this souvenir card which was later used as a bookmark.

The back says "Souvenir, Exhibition of 1867, Paris". The Exposition of 1867 was the most anticipated event in the world, at least since the London Exhibition of 1862. The latter half of the 19th century was marked for its enthusiasm for invention and innovation. People flocked to the World's Fair in locations across the globe. In another blog post, the owner of My Lady Nicotine travelled to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.

Bird's eye view of the Exposition Universelle 1867

Seven million people came to this one, put on by Emperor Napoleon III as a show of might and competition after London's 1862 exhibition. It was held on the site where the Eiffel Tower now stands. It's difficult to imagine a Paris skyline without it.

Now, let's take a moment to populate our imaginations with the living legends of Paris in 1867 and the great minds who were inspired by what they saw there. Victor Hugo, Gustave Eiffel (who had just designed a bridge), and Edouard Manet. Jules Verne was inspired to write 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mark Twain wrote about it in Innocents Abroad, and Edouard Manet immortalized the scenes in his painting.

The Aquarium

Industrial Section

Krupp Canon Exhibit

L. E. Haden was among the seven million people who attended the exposition. The image itself was one of two paintings on display at the Exposition by Gabriel von Max, a painter from Prague. This is St. Julia and he displayed this painting alongside St. Ludmila, a Prague saint. Max's father was the sculptor of St. Ludmila in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Letter

Without last names or even a year, this letter is more difficult to place. The address, 58 Campden Hill Court, appears to be a property in a historical building mere blocks from Kensington Palace.

Campden Hill Court as it looks today

Campden Hill Court is an historical property in Kensington, London. The original property was one of the first steel-framed mansion block buildings built in Central London, according to the Campden Hill Court website. Current property values average around 3.5 million pounds, so it's fair to say that the writer of our letter was quite well off.

As of January of 1903, Mr. Alexander G. Ross lived at 58 Campden Hill Court. He was listed in a directory called the Royal Blue Book: Fashionable Directory and Parliamentary Guide. It listed members of the aristocracy and parliament in England.

As of 1918, John C. Jenkins and his wife Constance resided there, listed in a Social Registry in July 1918.

As of June 1, 1921, a Miss Lucy Wills was residing at 58 Campden Hill Court. She was a member of the British Ecological Society and well-known doctor of hematology of which a great deal of information is available. Her incredible work, especially as a woman at this time, took her across the world to India and she published widely. Her mother passed away in 1939 and the probate record lists her as having lived at 58 Campden Hill Court. By the time Lucy Wills died in 1964, however, she was listed as living in a different location. Dr. Lucy Wills supported herself and never married. It appears that her mother lived with her when she died in 1939, so the writer of this note must have moved in sometime after 1939. As Dr. Wills never married or had children, the letter can't be pertaining to her.

I finally got so frustrated with my search that I paid to view the title for the property on the HM Land Registry. I got the following:

It appears that the French government has signed a 999 year lease for the rent of "a peppercorn" (but only if demanded). According to UK Practical Law, the 'peppercorn law' accounts for nominal rent when it is being paid in name only. These rents often exist where a premium has been paid. The peppercorn rent only exists to satisfy common law, in which both parties must exchange something of value.

I've been unable to find out who owned the property between 1939 and 1984, but have reached out to Campden Hill Court and will update this post with any new information as it comes!

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