The Brinton Collection is a collection of early
cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...
that was used by William Franklin Brinton (1857–1919) for his
traveling show in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
.
Background
It was preserved and discovered by history teacher, Michael Zahs, in a barn in
Ainsworth, Iowa
Ainsworth is a city in Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is a part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 511 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Highland Community School District.
History
Ainsworth ...
.
Collection
The collection included footage of
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, the world'sfirst
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
involving the
1900 Galveston hurricane
The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the third-d ...
and works by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use of ...
Observation on film art: Wisconsin Film Festival: Footage fetishism
/ref> that were thought to have been lost: ''The Wonderful Rose-Tree
''Le Rosier miraculeux'', released in the US as ''The Wonderful Rose-Tree'' and in the UK as '' The Magical Rose Tree'', is a 1904 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès.
Plot
According to Méliès's catalogue description:
Relea ...
'' and ''The Triple-Headed Lady
''The Triple-Headed Lady'' (french: Bouquet d'illusions) is a 1901 French short silent film by Georges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 334 in its catalogues.
The film was presumed lost until 2014, when film ...
''.
Legacy
The collection's history was recounted in a film documentary, ''Saving Brinton
''Saving Brinton'' is a 2017 American documentary film about the efforts of Iowa resident Mike Zahs to preserve a large quantity of reels of film from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that he found in the basement of a farm house. It premier ...
'', in 2018.[
]
References
{{reflist , refs=
[{{citation , url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jun/22/how-did-some-of-cinemas-greatest-films-end-up-in-an-iowa-shed , newspaper=The Guardian , author=Pamela Hutchinson , date=22 Jun 2018 , title=How did some of cinema's greatest films end up in an Iowa shed?]
Film preservation
History of film
Rediscovered American films