Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971

Explores how the cinematic experience we know today evolved from a long tradition of optical amusements and devices of wonder

Bull’s Eye Magic Lantern, Steel, paint, and glass, c. 18th century, Great Britain, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Bull’s Eye Magic Lantern

Magic Lantern, Johann Falk, Steel, paint, transfer print on ceramic, brass, and glass, 1895, Nuremberg, Germany, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Magic Lantern, Johann Falk

Dutch Peepshow Viewer, Wood, print on paper with hand coloring, and glass, c. 1850, The Netherlands, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Dutch Peepshow Viewer

Dutch Peepshow Viewer with View, Wood, print on paper with hand coloring, and glass, c. 1850, The Netherlands, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Dutch Peepshow Viewer with View

Steam-Driven Praxinoscope with Animation Strips, Ernst Plank, Wood, tin, brass, paint, glass mirror, and cotton string with print on paper strips, c. 1904, Germany, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Steam-Driven Praxinoscope with Animation Strips

Eiffel Tower Magic Lantern, Louis Aubert, Tin, paint, steel, and glass, c. 1890, Paris, France, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Eiffel Tower Magic Lantern

Brass Lantern with Slide, Ernst Plank, Brass, wood, paint, and glass, c. 1880, Germany, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Brass Lantern with Slide

Animation Disc for Living Pictures Optical Illusion Phenakistiscope, Lebende Bilder, Print on paper with hand coloring, c. 1840, Germany, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Animation Disc for Living Pictures Optical Illusion Phenakistiscope

Casler-Lumière Kinora and Reel, L. Gaumont et Cie. Wood, glass, and metal with a photo reproduction on paper and metal reel, c. 1900, France, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Casler-Lumière Kinora and Reel

Wheel of Life Zoetrope with Animation Strip, Wood, metal, and paint with ink on paper strip, c. 1870, Great Britain, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, ©Academy Museum Foundation

Wheel of Life Zoetrope with Animation Strip

<i>L'orgue de Barbarie</i>, etching, Edmé Bouchardon, 1737, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, photo courtesy the Margaret Herrick Library

L'orgue de Barbarie, etching, Edmé Bouchardon, 1737, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, photo courtesy the Margaret Herrick Library

L'orgue de Barbarie

Vue perspective de l'Interieur de St. Sulpice de Paris, hand-colored pierced engraving, 18th century, From the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, photo courtesy the Margaret Herrick Library

Vue perspective de l'Interieur de St. Sulpice de Paris

Vue perspective de l'Interieur de St. Sulpice de Paris, hand-colored pierced engraving, 18th century, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, photo courtesy the Margaret Herrick Library

<i>Running horse</i>, projecting praxinoscope glass strip for animated moving picture system, Charles-Émile Reynaud, ca. 1890, Courtesy Margaret Herrick Library

Running Horse, projecting praxinoscope glass strip for animated moving picture system, Charles-Émile Reynaud, ca. 1890, Courtesy Margaret Herrick Library

Running horse

Peacock Sciopticon, produced by the Pettibone Brothers Manufacturing Company, Metal on wood base, America, c. 1895, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Richard Balzer

Peacock Sciopticon

Triunial Magic Lantern, produced by Chatham Paxton, Wood, brass, and glass, 1891, Great Britain, from the Richard Balzer Collection, gift of Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Photo by Richard Balzer

Triunial Magic Lantern

Dive deeper into The Richard Balzer Collection with this short film, directed by Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer, cinematography by Fletcher Wolfe, music by Jason Lowrie

Behind the Collection

A collector and a master showman, Richard Balzer (1944–2017) amassed one of the most important assemblages of 19th-century optical prints and devices in the world.  In this film, created as a tribute by his son, the collector shares his enthusiasm for the dancing skeletons, sparkling chromatropes, and big-toothed wolves that delighted audiences of the past.

The Richard Balzer Collection

The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection

The cinematic experience we know today evolved from a long tradition of optical amusements and devices of wonder. From shadow play and peep shows to magic lanterns, zoetropes, and praxinoscopes, this exhibition introduces historical media practices that paved the way for cinema and hold a fascination all their own.

The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Photo by Joshua White, JWPictures/©Academy Museum Foundation

September 30, 2021–March 12, 2024

The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection

Behind the Collection

The Path to Cinema:
Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection