What the Butler Saw
We have our mutoscope at last due to a generous donation to the Friends from the Rowan Bentall Charitable Trust.
Mutoscope appeal success!
We had one on hire when the gallery opened and it was very popular. Now we have one of our own. Mutoscope is really a smart name for a what the butler saw machine so familiar with seaside visitors. With this one, visitors are able to turn the handle and see, on a revolving drum, a changing display of views of old Kingston, perhaps not so saucy as the original machines were intended to be! It is a great complement to the Town of Kings Gallery and gives us an opportunity to show-off some of the thousands of photographs we have in the Local History Room.
Modelscape, a local New Malden firm, has handcrafted the mutoscope. The idea was to adapt the standard design so that it is easily accessible for adults, small children and people using wheelchairs.
We should like to thank Edward Bentall and the Trustees most sincerely for their support which we appreciate enormously.
January 1999