A black tin Improved Phantasmagoria Lantern with handle and crooked chimney.

Carpenter marketed his Improved Phantasmagoria Lantern as a consumer version of the famous Phantasmagoria lantern shows that simulated ghost and spirit projections during the late 1700 and early 1800s. The name is a misnomer since Phantasmagoria refers to a type of projection rather than a type of lantern. The handle on the lantern was meant to accompany a larger professional magic lantern show with a small, mobile projector, or for small scale uses.