Print advertisements for Langtry's Pharmacy date back to the 1950s and they were in the government Register of Pharmacies in 1960 (although at the different address of 281 Oxford Street at that time).  Langtry was at one location on Oxford Street (probably 177) between 1962 and 1967. MAVtech has another Langtry's slide from a similar era as this one which advertises Kodak photographic film (also searchable on Kete). 

Shiseido was founded in Tokyo by  Arinobu Fukuhara in 1872. At first it was a pharmacy chain, but it started producing cosmetics in 1916. It began selling products outside of Japan from 1957.  A similar slide from Langtry's advertises Shiseido's 'Koto' perfume which was launched in 1967 and it is likely that this slide is from around the same time. 

The model in this slide looks to the side and away from the viewer. This is an 'objective' pose which minimises a 'connection' with the viewer and her eyes lead toward the text and it's 'promise of beauty'.  In this slide Langtry's is merely a stockist- it is Shiseido which is the main product here.

In the late 1960s there were a lot of films which featured a (very stereotyped!) version of 'the mystic East'- with the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice' being a notable example released in 1967- the same year as 'Koto'. A nice bit of marketing from a local business- or just a coincidence? Either way, products which offered a slice of the 'life' seen on screen were bound to be big sellers.

 

Is it ironic that an ad for make-up is marred by blemishes? This slide may just have been left by the projector's heat for too long! However, there's enough writing left untouched to know that it was made for the Oxford Pharmacy. An old newspaper ad displays the pharmacy on Oxford Street in 1981 as one of six pharmacies in Levin.

This slide looks to be a bit older than this though. An 'Oxford Pharmacy' was in the New Zealand Register of Pharmacies in 1960, albeit on a different end of Oxford Street.

The 'Chronicle' referred to in the slide was the local newspaper, known at various points as the 'Levin Chronicle', 'Daily Chronicle' and 'Horowhenua Daily Chronicle". At the time the slide was made the paper was published six days a week and was a paid newspaper. In 2008 it was renamed the 'Horowhenua Chronicle' and became a free community newspaper which is still being published at the time of writing (September 2023). 

With cinema advertising slides appearing onscreen for only a few seconds, a bright bold design was essential! A witty pun was sometimes used to grab attention. This slide ticks all the boxes. 

A 'George Cooper' ran a hairdressing salon on Oxford Street and was advertising in the local paper in 1939. It is possible that this is the same business.  The hair style and hand colouring certainly looks to be from this era, but it is difficult to be sure.

This is one of multiple cinema advertising slides made for the Sharon Beauty Salon.

This local Levin business appears to have a long history. There is a record of it existing as early as the 1940s, run by a Mrs. Weir. In 1981 the business was still there (but there is no record of who owned it by that stage).This cinema advertising slide would have been screened during intermission- but only for a few seconds to avoid the projector's heat cracking the glass! In the era before television, going to the cinema was a frequent past time and if you paid extra to be seated upstairs in the 'dress circle' you generally dressed in nice clothes. What better audience to advertise hair tinting and razor cutting! Imagine this ad stretching over a cinema screen- now that would be impact.... 

Print advertisements for Langtry's Pharmacy date back to the 1950s and they were in the government Register of Pharmacies in 1960 (although at the different address of 281 Oxford Street at that time). MAVtech has another Langtry's slide from a similar era as this one which advertises Kodak photographic film (also searchable on Kete). 

However, we know that this slide was later than the film one due to the product it advertises. The 'Koto' fragrance was launched in 1967 and you can still buy it today. According to a perfume website, the scents of 'Koto' are  Aldehydes, Green Notes, Spices and Citruses; middle notes are Narcissus, Orris Root, Gardenia, Rose, Jasmine and Lily-of-the-Valley; base notes are oak moss, Leather, Castoreum, Patchouli, Amber and Vetiver. 

In the late 1960s there were a lot of films which featured a (very stereotyped!) version of 'the mystic East'- with the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice' being a notable example released in 1967- the same year as 'Koto'. A nice bit of marketing from a local business- or just a coincidence? Either way, products which offered a slice of the 'life' seen on screen were bound to be big sellers.

Very rarely has such a forlorn scene been so enticing and beautiful. This magic lantern slide is a delicately hand coloured photograph and one of a set used by travelling lanternists who dazzled and entertained in town halls across the world. There was no cheap way of printing colour photography in the 1890s so each slide was done by hand by washing the slide, preparing specially thinned paint (to allow enough light to shine through) and finally coating the results with a protective varnish. 

This slide references a lyric from the popular music hall song ‘Alice, Where Art Thou?’ which was first released in England in 1861. For this particular set of slides a lyric from the song was represented by an image (with the help of ‘Life Models’ who assumed the right poses!) A full set of slides covered the entire song. The lyrics may have fallen into obscurity but the tune remained popular. It was cut on early Edison cylinder recordings and even saw a resurgence as the theme to the 1970s/1980s comedy programme ‘Open All Hours’. But the original words still survive, and they went like this (the slide’s lyrics are in bold)   

“The birds sleeping gently, Sweet Luna gleameth bright, Her rays tinge the forest, And all seems glad tonight, The wind's sighing by me, Cooling my fever'd brow; The stream flows as ever, Yet Alice, where art thou? One year back this even, And thou were by my side, One year back this even, And thou wert by my side. Vowing to love me, One year past this even, And thou wert by my side, Vowing to love me, Alice, what e'er might betide. The silver rain falling, Just as it falleth now, And all things slept gently, Oh! Alice, where art thou? I've sought thee by lakelet, I've sought thee on the hill; And in the pleasant wild-wood, When winds blew cold and chill. I've sought thee in forest, I'm looking heav'nward now, I've sought thee in forest, I'm looking heav'nward now. Oh! there, ‘mid the starshine; I've sought thee in forest, I'm looking heav'nward now, Oh! there amid the starshine, Alice, I know, art thou” 

MAVtech’s slide was made by Bamforth and Company who were based in the English town of Holmfirth. They started making lantern slides in 1883 and later branched out into silent films and seaside postcards. In fact, the firm used some reworked ‘Alice, Where Art Thou?’ designs for some of their postcards! A search of ‘Papers Past’ reveals that the song was often sung in New Zealand shows in the 1890s, with references to its popularity well into the 20th century. By World War Two the ditty was still known enough for a group of British soldiers to name their army lorry ‘Alice’. 

We know that the ‘Alice’ magic lantern show was performed in New Zealand and Manawatu newspapers from the 1880s to the 1900s record lantern shows being given in the name of education, amusement and children’s entertainment. Did ‘Alice’ get shown in Horowhenua? It is very possible!   

 This magic lantern slide is a delicately hand coloured photograph and one of a set used by travelling lanternists who dazzled and entertained in town halls across the world. There was no cheap way of printing colour photography at the time so each slide was done by hand- first by washing the slide, then preparing specially thinned paint (to allow enough light to shine through) and finally coating the results with a protective varnish. Many of these ornate slides illustrated popular music hall songs and religious hymns. This one appears to have been made for ‘Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep’ which first became popular in the mid-19th century.  A full set of slides covered the entire song whose lyrics went like this…. 

Rock’d in the cradle of the deep

I lay me down in peace to sleep;

Secure I rest upon the wave

For thou oh Lord, hast power to save.

I know thou wilt not slight my call,

For thou dost mark the sparrow’s fall!

And calm and peaceful is my sleep

Rock’d in the cradle of the deep,

And clam and peaceful is my sleep

Rock’d in the cradle of the deep. And such the trust that still were mine

Tho’ stormy winds swept o’er the brine.

Or though the tempest’s fiery breath

Roused me from sleep to wreck and death!

In ocean cave still safe with thee,

The germ of immortality;

And calm and peaceful is my sleep

Rock’d in the cradle of the deep,

And calm and peaceful is my sleep

Rock’d in the cradle of the deep   

MAVtech’s slide was made by Bamforth and Company who were based in the English town of Holmfirth. They started making lantern slides in 1883 and later branched out into silent films and seaside postcards.  An online source suggests that this slide was made in 1901. At the time, Major Joseph Perry of the Salvation Army was in the midst of his sensationally popular touring shows which mixed entertainment and a religious service. When they began in the 1890s they consisted of magic lantern performances and live music but Perry later branched out into cinema. He became the most prolific filmmaker in New Zealand at the time. 

There were still some magic lantern shows in 1901 and this popular Christian song would have been perfect for Perry’s tour. Newspapers reveal that Perry did host shows in Palmerston North and Wanganui in 1905, 1906 and 1907- might the slide have been shown there?  

‘Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep’ was a popular song in New Zealand and was sung live at many concerts. Our reliance on shipping (and the high amount of shipwrecks in recent memory) gave the nautical theme even more interest. In Christchurch one rendition in 1897 was backed up with illustrations from a magic lantern. Did another company make a series of slides before Bamforth? Or was this slide made earlier than first thought??  

 This slide was made in the late 1890s by Bamforth and Company- a firm based in Holmfirth, England. Bamforth began making magic lantern slides in 1883 and later made silent films and seaside postcards.  This slide is exquisite! Such a magnificent slide would have been beyond the purse of most hobbyists and instead it would have been bought by the professional ‘lanternist’ who used the magic lantern projector (powered by limelight, whale oil or carbon arc lamps) to entertain paying customers in halls throughout the world. 

Adding to the entertainment value of these slides, Bamforth often used them to illustrate the lyrics of popular songs. Love ballads and religious songs were especially common. This slide illustrates part of ‘The Flight of Ages’- whose lyrics are below. 

The Flight of Ages

 I heard a song, a tender song, 'Twas sung for me alone,

In the hush of a golden twilight, When all the world was gone ;

And as long as my heart is beating, As long as my eyes have tears,

I shall hear the echces ringing From out the golden years.

I have a rose, a white, white rose. 'Twas given me long ago, When the song had fallen to silence,

And the stars were dim and low ; It lies in an old book faded,

Between the pages white, But the ages cannot dim the dream

It brought to me that night. I have a love, the love of years, Bright as the purest star,

As radiant, sweet, and wonderful, As hopeless and as far;

I have a love, the love of years, It's light alone I see,

And I must worship hope and love, However far it be. It is the love that speaks to me Is that sweet song of old,

It is, the dream of golden years, Those petals white unfold:

And every star may fall from heaven, And every rose decay,

But the ages cannot change my love Or take my dream- or take my dream away.

The slide was part of a numbered set and the lanternist would have ordered them all to match the lyrics sung live by a singer. We know that these lantern shows were popular in the Manawatu in the 1890s and early 1900s before being supplanted by travelling cinemas. In fact, many of New Zealand’s cinema pioneers began their careers with the magic lantern. 

The phrase ‘from life models’ on the slide boasts that these are hand coloured photographs which professional models posed for. Each slide was coloured by hand in Holmfirth, adding to their beauty and their price.  

W. Stuart Donnelly was a stalwart of Foxton's medical services. He began his career in the town working for pharmacist  Thomas Crotty  before buying his business. For a time an optician called at his chemist shop once a week- the only optician service the town had. Kete records show Donnelly's shop on Foxton's Main Street from 1960-1970. Records do not  show where his shop was before that time (records show that Donnelly owned a shop in 1952). He also appears to have owned a pharmacy in Levin.

W. Stuart Donnelly was also the Mayor of Foxton Borough from 1972-1978. A photograph exists of him standing in his shop (this can be found on Kete by searching 'W. Stuart Donnelly').

But is wasn't all about prescriptions! This slide was advertising cosmetics. If this slide is to be believed, a green shade about the eyes would certainly let them 'dominate'.....

 W. Stuart Donnelly was a stalwart of Foxton's medical services. He began his career in the town working for pharmacist  Thomas Crotty  before buying his business. For a time an optician called at his chemist shop once a week- the only optician service the town had. Kete records show Donnelly's shop on Foxton's Main Street from 1960-1970. Records do not  show where his shop was before that time (records show that Donnelly owned a shop in 1952). He also appears to have owned a pharmacy in Levin. W. Stuart Donnelly was also the Mayor of Foxton Borough from 1972-1978. A photograph exists of him standing in his shop (this can be found on Kete by searching 'W. Stuart Donnelly'). 

The 'Gala' range of cosmetics seems to have been a popular line for Donnelly's business. This is the second cinema advertising slide featuring their products!

This local Levin business appears to have a long history. There is a record of it existing as early as the 1940s, run by a Mrs. Weir. In 1981 the business was still there (but there is no record of who owned it by that stage).

This cinema advertising slide would have been screened during intermission- but only for a few seconds to avoid the projector's heat cracking the glass! In the era before television, going to the cinema was a frequent past time and if you paid extra to be seated upstairs in the 'dress circle' you generally dressed in nice clothes. What better audience to advertise cold waving, colour shampoos, hair tinting, razor cutting and facials! 

Imagine this ad stretching over a cinema screen- now that would be impact....