Library Guide to 35 mm Slides

A 35 mm slide is a photographic image which is a transparency in either color or black and white which comes from 35 mm film. These slides are viewed by projecting light through the image to view. 

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35 mm slides were widely popular in the mid-20th century. First introduced during the 1930s, with Eastman Kodak’s creation of Kodachrome in 1935, followed by selling their first rolls of 35 mm color film in 1936, 35 mm slides did not really become popular until the late 1940s (Ang, 2014; Rosenblum, 1997). By the 1950s and 1960s, 35 mm slides were widely used both commercially and domestically. With the creation of slide projectors to view the slides, it became very popular with families during the 1950s and 1960s. The invention of the circular carousel projectors in 1962 helped cement this popularity. Being able to show off more slides per tray without having to switch trays as often was a key feature (Ang, 2014). 

Even though their popularity thrived during the 1950s and 1960s, it started to decline in the 1980s due to the rise of television (Ang, 2014). The fall of their popularity has continued today due to the invention and development of digital photography as well as the creation of digital slide shows in programs such as Google Slides or PowerPoint (Weidner, 2013). Today, 35 mm slides are more often than not just pieces of forgotten technology which are found amongst the cleaning out someone’s house or an institution's back closet. 

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References:

Ang, T. (2014). Photography the Definitive Visual History (1st ed.). DK Publishing.

Rosenblum, N. (1997). A World History of Photography (3rd ed.). Abbeville Press.

Weidner, T. (2013). Fading Out the End of 35mm Slide Transparencies. The Electronic Media Review, 2, 157–173.

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