09/05/2026
Complete 1920 Hand-Colored Magic Lantern Slide Set: YMCA National Thrift Week (17 Slides) in Original Box – Scott Slide Co. NYC
Up for sale is an incredibly rare, 100% complete, and pristine piece of American social history: a definitive 17-slide educational lecture set produced by the renowned Scott Slide Company (24 East 55th St., N.Y.C.) for the January 1920 National Thrift Week campaign. Titled "The Ten Commandments to Help Men and Boys Master Money Matters," this complete series was commissioned by the International Committee of the YMCA (Industrial Department) to educate post-WWI industrial workers on household economics, budgeting, debt avoidance, and personal responsibility.
Highlights & Rarity Factors: 100% Complete & Intact: Finding unbroken, single glass slides from this era is common—finding a completely intact, consecutive 17-slide narrative sequence where NO glass is broken is an exceptional rarity.
Original Box Housing: Includes the original, heavy-duty cardboard transport mailing box reinforced with period cloth binding tape. This is exactly how the slides traveled across the country to factories, schools, and civic halls over a century ago.
Stunning Visual Content: Features hand-colored photo-emulsion artwork and powerful motivational quotes from historical giants like Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and John Wesley. Notable highlights include the striking "Debt Canyon" warning slide ( #14) and the beautiful architectural illustration for life insurance ( #11).
Condition: The set is in exceptional antique condition. All 17 pieces of projection glass are entirely sound, structurally stable, clear, and free of cracks or chips. The vibrant hand-tinted colors remain wonderfully bright. Slide #17 shows wear/peeling to its perimeter black paper binding tape, but the glass itself remains perfectly undamaged (very common and stable for a set of this age). The original storage box shows authentic handling wear and patina, holding the slides safely and securely.
A museum-quality time capsule perfect for collectors of pre-cinema photographica, banking/financial history, or early 20th-century Americana.
Shipping: Will be securely packed with extreme care using professional bubble wrapping to ensure safe transit.
$550 obo
Local pickup in Chubbuck, shipping available