I bought some badges at the weekend at my local carboot; two lovely Epcot Centre ones – Disney’s futuristic science centre from the 80s, a Freak Out one which I’m unsure is original or not and another named ‘Lears Magical Lanterns’. The last one had piqued my interest as magic lanterns are the original light shows from Victorian times, a now obsolete curio of the past that still retains a devoted following online. I wasn’t familiar with the name but thought I’d add to my small collection of light show-related badges and look it up when I got home. This fascinating 1983 BBC documentary on the Lear family and their travelling magic lantern show (via two canal boats!) was the first to appear. It’s a beautiful look back at an idyllic age where the young family pursue their passion, preserving the outdated artform for audiences whilst travelling the UK’s canals. There’s a particularly good Chromatrope display around the 16 minute mark.
My good friend Neil Rice knew the Lears well and visited them at their home in the 80s, fuelling his fascination with the history of projection in the process. He remembers they had, “Lanterns of every shape and size which they knew the life history of. Plus circa 10,000 slides, hand painted and early photographic. 3000 of them mechanical.” The Lears also visited his Optikinetics lighting business in Luton and even performed at the dealer launch of their early ‘80s Mode/Optikinetics roadshow.
In its algorithmic wisdom YouTube served up this later programme from 1992 directly after the first, revisiting Doug Lear nearly a decade later. Times have changed and their marriage is on the rocks with Anita filing for divorce, bringing dire consequences for the magic lantern show. They now have a museum for the lanterns and optical toys in Wales but financial burdens facing Doug mean he might have to sell their collection of antique projection equipment to pay the bills. It’s not a straight forward documentary like the first, but contains flashback period pieces inserted to illustrate the golden age of magic lanterns. It’s an all too familiar tale of technology slowly but surely evolving to make way for the latest innovations, mercilessly leaving yesterday’s practitioners in its wake as audiences move on to the latest thing. We’re left hanging at the end as to Doug’s fate as he walks into the light and ponders what to do as next.
After the Lears split up, Christies auctioned their collection in the mid 90s, fetching circa half a million pounds with most of it going to the Getty Museum. Anita pursued a career in laser-cut marquetry with customers like Stella McCartney while Doug studied the Turin Shroud at Birmingham University, continuing his musical career before eventually meeting a new partner and settling in North West Wales. Doug and Anita made their peace before she passed away in 2017 and there is more about the Lears in her obituary on the Magic Lantern Society website. Amazing what the purchase of one small badge can uncover.
