Lantern-Slide Projector

Lantern slide projector made of black metal outer casing, glass and inner electrical workings

The lantern is shaped like an upright isosceles trapezoid on legs, topped with two round capped towers that act as heat vents. A round lens protrudes from the front of the lantern to project the image. A decorative bronze coloured horizontal stripe adorns the front of the lantern above and below the lens. A similar stripe also decorates the 'towers'. The back of the lantern opens to reveal the light source and lens. A brown twisted plastic electrical cord is extends from the lantern and ends in a lamp socket.

This projector shows lantern slides, still hand-painted or photographic images on glass. These images were inserted to the projector one at a time. The opaque images where projected through the lens onto a surface by setting them in front of a bright light. The positive images, unlike negatives created by camera film did not need processing and directly sent a projected image on the wall. Use of lantern slides in Keno was probably a novelty when this projector lantern was introduced in the 1920s but soon 8mm movie projectors replaced the slide lantern. The popularity of the slide lantern waned until the introduction of small Kodak Kodachrome slides made the magic slide lantern obsolete. This slide lantern was a part of the recreation facility at Jackson Hall. The hall was run by Tommy Jackson, who had moved to Keno after running the Royal Alexander Hotel in Dawson City. Jackson Hall was the only community recreational building in Keno City for many years and was used for activities such as billiards, films, badminton, and dances. In this recreation hall, Emil Forrest showed silent movies for 75 cents on a small canvas. Unfortunately, the building became unsafe when the metal rods that stabilized the second floor ceiling were removed to provide better view of the movie screen and to stop interference with the badminton birdies. The building was stabilized in 1979 and became a repository for the museum built by the Keno Community Center.