General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal battery casing-handle/ synthetic focusing head / glass lamp bulb/ paper part

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

21.4 cm

Width

4.0 cm

Height

N/A

Thickness

4.0 cm

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Photography

Category

Still images

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Nova Scotia

Period

circa 1974 to 1991

Canada

This slide pointer was purchased ca. 1974 in Halifax, NS, at the Atlantic Photo Supply Ltd. Photography store. The donor used this optical presentation aid when teaching classes at St. Mary's University. He also made use of it when conducting tours of the university's Burke-Gaffney Observatory. The device was used from 1974 to 1991.

Function

This optical device was used during a lecture/presentation to point out specific areas on a projection screen when showing slides or using transparencies.

Technical

Before the advent of laser pointer technology, lecturer's used a stick to point out something on a screen or blackboard during a presentation. This device is a type sample of the earliest optical pointers made. Composed of a small incandescent bulb and a lens, the pointer would project an arrow when switched on. It features a focusing head to focus the arrow at various distances. When compared to modern-day laser, technology, this pointer did not perform that well because the beam could not be collimated as well as that of a laser. Nonetheless, the creation of such a device was a major step forward compared to the use of a pointing stick.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

none

Missing

appears complete except for batteries

Finish

Unknown

Decoration

N/A