Bausch & Lomb Balopticon Type 41-23-82

Good Day Everyone,

Here's another antique curb find from the other day: a Bausch & Lomb Balopticon Type 41-23-82. I could not quite figure out the best forum to post this to, so I picked this one since, well, this thing is mostly made of metal...

Does anyone know much about what sort of device this is? Looks like a projector of some type and although it turns on, it seems to be missing a critical piece of equipment, based on a photo of a similar unit

Not sure if without that extra piece this is just a heap of (antique) metal, but still: what was it designed to project? It has a pair of lens: can they be re-purposed for some other task if I can't restore it to be fully operational?

Thank you!

 

https://www.luikerwaal.com/newframe_uk.htm?/merk_bausch1_uk.htm

 

Thank you @Hollyblue !

 

Slide projector is so much easier to say then Balopticon

 

I sold something similar last year. It came in the original metal case and had some of the original instructions & light bulb. It was used for showing slides in larger settings like colleges or auditoriums. I found some on ebay that were sold for parts, however, they went for very little money because of the weight and the outrageous shipping charges. Mine sold locally using Craigslist.

 

If I understand correctly, the balopticon was not strictly speaking a slide projector, or magic lantern as they used to be called, but was a type of opaque projector; using a strong light, lenses, and a mirror to cast an image of an opaque object by reflected light. You'd slide a book, map, or other solid object into the slot, and the bright light would cause an image to be projected. Some of the Bausch & Lomb Balopticons were convertible, and could take slides as well as solid objects.

Per Merriam-Webster: "Balopticon: a projector that utilizes reflected light for projecting the images of opaque objects."

For a discussion of image projection by reflected light see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opaque_projector

 

The OP's piece is missing the lens part for the glass slides,it has the tray on the bottom for photographs,picture postcards,etc.