An electric projector is used for displaying slides on a projection screen. An image is put on a slide through which light passes, allowing projection of the image on a screen. The projector’s appearance harkens back to an early projection device called the laterna magica, where an image was projected from a hand-painted glass transparency. The earliest mention of projecting images using the laterna magica, and one of the first devices of this type was designed in 1645 by the German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher. In early projectors, the source of light was the flame of a candle or an oil or carbide lamp, which is why the device required a chimney to remove the combustion gases. Later designs were improved by adding a lens, the lamp flame was replaced by a light bulb, and glass transparencies – by photographic slides. The laterna magica was the predecessor of modern projectors such as the slide projector, episcope, epidiascope, as well as the photographic enlarger and film projector.
The Ornak portable projector was placed in a housing made of polished brass, which was a rarity. The manufacturer praised the design as not containing “any wooden parts or parts which can easily break or bend”. The device was designed to project images from slides on film. Thanks to the strong source of light passing through the lens in an elongated micro-projection attachment, it is possible to display images from a film roll divided into frames. The roll is mounted outside of the body on two rotary mandrels above and below the projection attachment. The Ornak projector was used in cultural and educational facilities, offices, and homes to display illustrated stories. The device was placed in a case that the buyer received for free with the purchase. The projector was sold in a complete set with a transformer, discharger, and micro-projection attachment. In 1935, the “Polacy Zagranicą” monthly magazine reported that the Ornak production facility had prepared an extensive catalogue of slides on a tape, illustrating subjects of knowledge about Poland, including geography, history, art, literature, military, aviation, industry and technology, religion, and stories and legends.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski