Hand painted lanternslide depicting two flowers in a handmade wood frame. This slide is part of a collection made by Samuel Reader between 1866 and 1913. Reader was a Kansas farmer who was active in the early Topeka community. He built two homes, served in the Civil War, and wrote in a diary nearly every day for 64 years. Reader began painting slides in 1866 and continued throughout much of his life. He held magic lantern shows for the local community in his house and at church. The name of Reader's younger cousin, "Eugene M Cole," is written on the wooden frame of this slide. They worked together on the family farm, and Cole often was the first to view Reader's lanternslides.