Entre collection et série narrative : l’ambiguïté sérielle des plaques de la lanterne magique.

Abstract

This paper aims to consider the magic lantern device through the prism of seriality, by first considering it as a mode of production and diffusion linked to the industrial era, and not as a primarily narrative phenomenon. To do so, we examine the case of the Junior Lecturer's Series. This collection was composed of magic lantern slides for the apprentice lecturer, produced by the English manufacturer Butcher and Sons and sold at the beginning of the 20th century in the catalogs of their brand Primus. Our argument is divided into two parts. The first of which aims to understand the functioning of the collection, the opportunities it offers to its young collector, the place that narrative seriality occupies (or not) and the way in which this collection is constructed in relation to a more important set of images which is that of the Primus slides catalog. As for the second: we consider the oral performance of the apprentice lecturer such as it is programmed by the editorial line and the materiality of the Junior Lecturer's Series.

Keywords

• Lanterne magique – collection – séries – plaques de verre – Primus – performance – oralité