To catch a sunbeam : Victorian reality through the magic lantern / designed and edited by G.A. Household from the collection of L.M.H. Smith.

"Magic lantern slide shows were a popular form of entertainment in the halls during the late nineteenth century. Usually the image projected by the magic lantern illustrated a song, a joke or a story; but Sentiment was what the customers wanted. The popular writers used the Victorians' love of Sentiment to bring home to the audience in the halls the appalling slum conditions in which the poor were living in every large British city. To Catch A Sunbeam is compiled from the lantern slide shows produced by the Victorian charities and temperance societies to illustrate such social evils as alcohol (drunkenness had become a social disaster of epidemic proportions among the poor), gambling, and the neglect of children. It is unfashionable today to combine Sentiment with a social message, but in the Victorian era it was not only fashionable but effective. It is impossible to read this book without a tug at the heart strings. The original magic lantern slides reproduced here are of remarkable quality. They were studio-produced, using professional models and painted backcloths and sets. The glass slides were then coloured by hand."--Provided by publisher.