University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Diagnosis, General
Accession Number
1969.311.1 a-b
Description
A lantern (a) in a lantern holder (b), which has a small handle with a wooden grip affixed to a half-circle on top; front of lantern holder has 18 small circular windows with different coloured glass in each window; the disk containing these windows is movable in both counterclockwise and clockwise…
A lantern (a) in a lantern holder (b), which has a small handle with a wooden grip affixed to a half-circle on top; front of lantern holder has 18 small circular windows with different coloured glass in each window; the disk containing these windows is movable in both counterclockwise and clockwise directions; the lantern consists of a fuel container with an outlet mechanism on top for lighting a flame; at a 45° angle to the outlet are two rectangular-shaped stands with a circular hole near the top of the rectangle, through which a mirror shows; a tall, cylindrical, hollow tube of glass fits over the outlet mechanism; there is a knob that controls the height of the flame.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - lantern - Size: Length 13.0 cm x Width 9.5 cm x Depth 21.0 cm
b - lantern holder - Size: Length 13.5 cm x Width 15.1 cm x Depth 33.6 cm
Provenance
Acquired from the Academy of Medicine; source unknown.
Maker
E. M. & Co.
Dates
1900
1920
circa 1900-1920
Material
metal: black
wood: black
glass: 18 different colours
Inscriptions
On knob: "STELLAR // E. M. & Co"; stamped metal plate affixed to lantern above circular coloured windows reads: "DR. C. H. WILLIAMS // LANTERN // FOR TESTING COLOUR SENSE"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-G2-2
Copy Type
Original
Research Facts
From an article from the Electric Railway Journal, March 13, 1909:
"Dr. C.H. Williams' lantern is used for the color test. It is placed in the same position as the (eye) chart and light is furnished from the same line. The lantern shows white, yellow, red, green and purple. The aperture for showing the light is perhaps ¾ in. in diameter and the colors are obtained by revolving various colored disks over the opening. Employees are asked to name the colors immediately on seeing them and the changes are made rapidly, so that the test shows the aptness of the employee to distinguish them quickly and easily.To test ability to approximate distance from the apparent size of lights a lied is arrange so that openings of various sizes from ¾ to in. in diameter are shown in the various colors. These correspond to the varying distances fro lights on cars or switches and good judgment on this point is expected in order to prevent collisions or passing danger signals."