Carousel slide projector

The carousel slide projector emerged because gravity could solve what mechanics couldn't. Previous projectors used linear trays below the lens that lifted slides into position—a process prone to jamming when slides warped. In 1957, Kodak industrial designer David Hansen sketched a radical idea: put the tray above the lens and let slides fall into place.

The adjacent possible aligned through an Italian immigrant's insight. Louis Misuraca, who emigrated from Naples, had developed the initial concept for a circular, gravity-fed slide tray in the late 1950s. He sold the rights to Eastman Kodak for a lump sum—missing the fortune his concept would generate. At Kodak, engineers D.M. Harvey and W.P. Ewald reversed the conventional design, building a top-loading prototype in 1956 to test whether gravity-fed operation would work.

Hansen's 1957 sketch proposed the round tray, and a patent was granted. Industrial designer Dick Olsen carried development forward. By 1959, final drawings were complete. The Model 550, introduced in 1961, swept the market.

The design solved multiple problems elegantly. The circular tray held 80 slides secured by a locking ring on the hub, preventing accidental spills if dropped. Gravity lowered each slide into the projector; a warped slide would simply stop where it encountered resistance rather than jamming the mechanism. The circular format enabled automated shows without manually resetting the tray between performances—just keep rotating.

The 1963 Carousel Model S, designed by Hans Gugelot and Reinhold Häcker for Kodak AG in Stuttgart, was sold only in Germany but achieved design immortality: the Museum of Modern Art added it to its permanent collection. Later models accommodated 140-slide trays. The distinctive mechanical sound of a carousel advancing became the soundtrack of family gatherings and corporate presentations throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The carousel projector achieved cultural significance beyond its technical merits. Don Draper's pitch for the device in Mad Men—'It's not called the wheel. It's called the carousel'—captured how the technology enabled nostalgic storytelling. The format persisted until digital photography made slides obsolete. Kodak discontinued the Carousel projector in October 2004, ending a forty-three year production run.