Which invention projects painted glass slides for storytelling and entertainment?

• A. Magic Lantern
• B. Camera Obscura
• C. Thaumatrope
• D. Photography

Answer: (A)

Projection of painted glass slides for storytelling is a form of early visual entertainment. The device that fits this description is the magic lantern: it holds glass slides painted with scenes, places a bright lamp behind them, and uses lenses to throw the enlarged image onto a wall or screen. By sequencing slides, a storyteller could show a narrative with changing scenes, sometimes with narration, music, or sound effects. This makes it distinct from other optical devices: a camera obscura simply projects the outside world without slides or narrative sequencing; a thaumatrope mixes two images on a disc through rapid rotation for a single combined image; photography records still images but does not project painted slides for live storytelling. So the invention described is the magic lantern.