Magic Lantern Slide Harvard, Columbia Pennants

Vintage, original hand-colored "Magic Lantern" slide depicting three early fans holding pennants from Harvard, Columbia, NYU and likely Yale, although the pennant is backward. Undated but circa 1900s. Made by Scott and Van Altena, 59 Pearl Street, NYC. Measures 3 1/4 inches x 4 inches in very good condition. Vibrant colors.

A magic lantern is an early type of image projector originally developed in the seventeenth century. It works by placing a concave mirror in front of a light source which projects through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The inverse of this slide shows the fan in reverse holding the flags.