I pass by most old magic lantern slides, but these are special--c. 1880s or so I believe, French, and with all of the color hand-painted. Quite a cast of characters (caricatures) and situations represented --my favorite being a man with pointy beard holding "bettrave triumphant" (triumphant beet!) and a "gourmand" tethered to a pillar to be held off from the table by a satyr who is about to feast! Many seem to relate to devilish behavior, with a portrait of Mephistopheles included, but there are all sorts of things going!
All slides documented--my photos are not great; imagery on slides themselves is super crisp, and details are most helpful. Slides measure 9 1/2" l x 2 7/16" t, all withy green paper borders. No cracks or chips; some paint/text loss primarily on two of them, shown in bottom row in first photo and with details. Sold in the nice old slide top box I found them in, with remnants of a paper label on one side, I am quite sure original to them and which is in very good condition.
