I visited the "Path To Cinema" exhibit at The Academy Of Motion Pictures Museum in Los Angeles. Dick Balzer was a well known member of The Magic Lantern Society and was both a collector and performer.
Much of Richard's collection can be seen in this YouTube video.
Although Richard passed away in 2017, his collection was donated by his wife Patricia Bellinger to the Academy Museum.
The exhibit had a variety of different lanterns spanning multiple types and styles.
There was also a good display of hand painted Magic Lantern slides.
Besides the lanterns and slides, there was a good display of other entertainment technologies.
One of the walls had a display of several slides being performed. There was no narration, just a demonstration of the slides, but it still did a pretty good job of showing what the capabilities of the media.
Art
Phantasmagoria
Story
Travel
Science
The exhibit is being retired and put back into storage on March 12, 2024 so make sure to see it before it goes away.