Hi all-
Got my copy of it yesterday and wanted to share it with you. The book was reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views. Here it is....
=======================
Whatever happened to all those news reels we used to watch in the movie theaters when we were kids? Or those training films they made us watch when we were drafted or enlisted in the military? How about those carefully crafted films depicting life in America during the Twentieth Century; some dating back to early 1900s? I’m sure many of us would like to see them again just to see what life was like in those days. The good news is that many of those films are alive and well, tucked safely away in the care of the federal government. The bad news is that finding a specific film can be a difficult and frustrating task. Until now.
In one fell swoop, “America’s Film Vault: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives,” by award-winning author and film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart has leveled the playing field for historians, film buffs, and curiosity seekers. How significant is his new book? Consider this: for the first time ever, the whereabouts of over 360,000 film reels that document a century of American and world history have been assembled in book form. As a matter of fact, it is safe to say that some of the best kept history secrets are buried deep within Stewart’s book.
Considering the scope of “America’s Film Vault” I expected the review copy to arrive on a hand truck bearing a book somewhere in size between the Manhattan telephone directory and the oldfashion dictionaries that sit perched on large walnut stands in the libraries. To my surprise, it was quite modest in size; about 280 pages. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for it in sheer volume of information it contains between the covers.
Finding a specific title amongst the 360,000 or so films listed is relatively simple. For ease of search, the book is divided into five sections: Civilian Films; Military Films, Donated Films, Title Index, and Subject Index. Each film section begins with an overview which provides general information concerning what type of films the searcher can expect to find there. Of the three film sections I found the Donated Film section to be the most fascinating, mainly because it contains a treasure trove of newsreels. The subjects of these newsreels vary from the mundane to stories of epic proportions. Here’s an example of the former that was filmed by Universal Newspaper Newsreel: “Runaway Train Plunges Down Mountain: New Castle, PA - 210,000 tons of coal spilled, 32 cars wrecked, but nobody is hurt. Some of the derailed cars hung on the edge of a steep embankment.”
Can’t you just picture this?
So far “American Film Vault” has been warmly received by those in the know. For example, according to William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives, “America’s Film Vault” is, “...a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source.”
“American Film Vault” is the third book Phillip Stewart has written as part of The Historic Footage Project. You can learn more about this project by visiting his website. Meanwhile, I am prepared to accept the challenge he laid down on the cover of his book; namely, “If you’re ready to play detective, take a crack at the combination, and investigate the bowels of the vault, you need a guide map...and this is it! Discover “reel” treasures with “America’s Film Vault.” I can’t wait to get started.
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If your interested, “America’s Film Vault” is available at Amazon.com.
More soon
Phil
www.pwstewart.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Civilian RG example
Welcome to April...my how time flies....
I've been working hard developing new marketing for America's Film Vault, hence the long delay in posting here. Below is another example of a civilian RG for your review. This one has only two reels; the rest of the moving image holdings are on videotape.
Records of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)/Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Division, RG 515
1975, 2 reels
Motion Picture and Video Recordings, 1975-1992, [515] (88824); two film titles.
• Seneca Glass Works — established in 1904, this film explores this successful Morgantown,
WV business, 1975.
While I continue to work on promoting America's Film Vault, I am working on the final edit of my next book Projected History: A Catalog of the U.S. National Stories Released by Universal Newsreel, Volume II, 1931-1932. I may have some excerpts from it on this blog sometime in the near future.
On a personal note, I have found that there is very little monetary profit to writing reference books. I do what I do purely out of a love for our country's rich collection of filmed history, its cinematic heritage, and a strong desire to ensure that it's preserved for future generations. These films are worth cherishing. It's also incredibly valuable to know what's in America's film vault and where to look to get your hands on a copy of it.
'Til next time-
Phil
www.pwstewart.com
I've been working hard developing new marketing for America's Film Vault, hence the long delay in posting here. Below is another example of a civilian RG for your review. This one has only two reels; the rest of the moving image holdings are on videotape.
Records of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)/Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Division, RG 515
1975, 2 reels
Motion Picture and Video Recordings, 1975-1992, [515] (88824); two film titles.
• Seneca Glass Works — established in 1904, this film explores this successful Morgantown,
WV business, 1975.
While I continue to work on promoting America's Film Vault, I am working on the final edit of my next book Projected History: A Catalog of the U.S. National Stories Released by Universal Newsreel, Volume II, 1931-1932. I may have some excerpts from it on this blog sometime in the near future.
On a personal note, I have found that there is very little monetary profit to writing reference books. I do what I do purely out of a love for our country's rich collection of filmed history, its cinematic heritage, and a strong desire to ensure that it's preserved for future generations. These films are worth cherishing. It's also incredibly valuable to know what's in America's film vault and where to look to get your hands on a copy of it.
'Til next time-
Phil
www.pwstewart.com
Sunday, March 8, 2009
NEW BOOK: AMERICA'S FILM VAULT
Again, I apologize for the delay in regular posting to this blog. However, I have great news to share.
My new book, AMERICA'S FILM VALUT will be published next week and will be available on Amazon.com by the end of the month. Below is the news release that will go out late next week.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
My new book, AMERICA'S FILM VALUT will be published next week and will be available on Amazon.com by the end of the month. Below is the news release that will go out late next week.
Discover Reel Treasures With America’s Film Vault
AMERICA’S FILM VAULT: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives-- A comprehensive new book by award-winning author and film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart.
Some of the best kept history secrets are buried deep within AMERICA’S FILM VAULT. This essential reference guide unshrouds, for the first time in book form, the whereabouts of historic motion picture films preserved in the U.S. National Archives. This treasure trove includes over 360,000 film reels that document a century of American and World history. Unfortunately, relatively few people know that these historically significant films exist, and even fewer know how to find them.
America’s Film Vault is an indispensable reference guide that discloses how these vintage films are organized and where to find them; exposes over 345 Government and Donated records that have motion pictures buried within them; uncovers and specifically identifies over 1,440 film titles and provides topical references to thousands more; and reveals-all with a comprehensive 2,080-plus subject index that sheds light on a vast variety of rare films.
According to William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives, America’s Film Vault is, “…a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration’s motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source.”
If you’re ready to play detective, take a crack at the combination, and investigate the bowels of the vault, you need a map…and this is it! Discover reel treasures with America’s Film Vault.
More soon!AMERICA’S FILM VAULT: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives-- A comprehensive new book by award-winning author and film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart.
Some of the best kept history secrets are buried deep within AMERICA’S FILM VAULT. This essential reference guide unshrouds, for the first time in book form, the whereabouts of historic motion picture films preserved in the U.S. National Archives. This treasure trove includes over 360,000 film reels that document a century of American and World history. Unfortunately, relatively few people know that these historically significant films exist, and even fewer know how to find them.
America’s Film Vault is an indispensable reference guide that discloses how these vintage films are organized and where to find them; exposes over 345 Government and Donated records that have motion pictures buried within them; uncovers and specifically identifies over 1,440 film titles and provides topical references to thousands more; and reveals-all with a comprehensive 2,080-plus subject index that sheds light on a vast variety of rare films.
According to William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives, America’s Film Vault is, “…a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration’s motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source.”
If you’re ready to play detective, take a crack at the combination, and investigate the bowels of the vault, you need a map…and this is it! Discover reel treasures with America’s Film Vault.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
ONE MORE EXAMPLE
Hi-
As I mentioned earlier, the third category is the Donated Materials Group (DMG) films. Here is an example...
Esther C. Goddard Collection
1926-1945, 7 reels
Motion Picture Film, 1926-1945, [GODD-GODDARD] (94788); one title.
• Dr. Goddard Footage, 1926-1945.
(1) Tests of liquid-propellant rockets by Dr. Robert Goddard, at Auburn, MA, 1926-1928; first flight of a rocket using liquid propellant, 16 Mar 1926.
(2) More tests of liquid-propellant rockets at Auburn and Camp David, MA, 1928-1930.
(3) Rocket development, Jul 1930-Mar 1931.
(4) How a flight is carried out.
(5) Rocket development Sept 1934-Mar 1935.
(6) Static test of large rocket chamber 22 Nov 1935-12 Feb 1936.
(7) L-series of tests, May 1936-Aug. 1938.
(8) Test L18 through L29; flight of 9 Aug 1938, with an official N.A.A. barograph.
(9) P-series of tests, Jan 1939-Aug 1941, to develop pumps for liquid oxygen and gasoline.
(10) P-series tests #16-31.
(11) Development of the jet-assisted take-off unit for the Army and Navy, Oct 1941-Jun 1945.
(12) Development of high altitude rockets, 1945.
As things stand now, there are currently 161 DMG film collections in the NARA for you to investigate.
More later!
Phil
As I mentioned earlier, the third category is the Donated Materials Group (DMG) films. Here is an example...
Esther C. Goddard Collection
1926-1945, 7 reels
Motion Picture Film, 1926-1945, [GODD-GODDARD] (94788); one title.
• Dr. Goddard Footage, 1926-1945.
(1) Tests of liquid-propellant rockets by Dr. Robert Goddard, at Auburn, MA, 1926-1928; first flight of a rocket using liquid propellant, 16 Mar 1926.
(2) More tests of liquid-propellant rockets at Auburn and Camp David, MA, 1928-1930.
(3) Rocket development, Jul 1930-Mar 1931.
(4) How a flight is carried out.
(5) Rocket development Sept 1934-Mar 1935.
(6) Static test of large rocket chamber 22 Nov 1935-12 Feb 1936.
(7) L-series of tests, May 1936-Aug. 1938.
(8) Test L18 through L29; flight of 9 Aug 1938, with an official N.A.A. barograph.
(9) P-series of tests, Jan 1939-Aug 1941, to develop pumps for liquid oxygen and gasoline.
(10) P-series tests #16-31.
(11) Development of the jet-assisted take-off unit for the Army and Navy, Oct 1941-Jun 1945.
(12) Development of high altitude rockets, 1945.
As things stand now, there are currently 161 DMG film collections in the NARA for you to investigate.
More later!
Phil
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Another Example
Here's example of a military RG...
Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, RG 330
1918-1985, 5556 reels
This RG is divided into eight moving image series, of which four contain film titles.
1. Motion Picture Films and Video Recordings on Four Decades of U.S. Military Activities Around the World , ca. 1950-1990, [330-DVIC] (561934); 461 titles. This series consists of edited and unedited documentary footage selected from Department of Defense, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force collections previously housed at the Defense Visual Information Center. The footage includes historical events, training exercises, and military combat in Vietnam, Grenada, Somalia, and Lebanon as well as other military events around the world. Also included are scenes of military aircraft, experimental aircraft, weapons systems, vehicles, naval ships, and research and development activities. Peacetime activities include coverage of humanitarian efforts. The series title is incorrect; the films cover the time period WWI through the mid-1980s.
• World War I Land and Sea Combat Footage, 1916-1918 — President Wilson, General Pershing, French Marshal Foch, and General Joffre; devastation on the Western Front; trench warfare; peasants; submarine hunting; cavalry; tanks; the grave marker for the first American soldiers who died on French soil, 1919.
• Byrd Antarctic Expedition — first flight over the South Pole; members of the Byrd party dig out and reassemble the Ford Tri-motor airplane named Floyd Bennett; feeding porpoises; loading gear into plane; the plane takes off; flying over a frozen wasteland; interior shots of Byrd seated in the plane, ca. 1929.
• USS Macon (ZRS-5) Historical Footage — NFDA, 1933.
• U.S. Navy’s Outstanding Combat Photography of World War II — mostly attacks by Japanese aircraft on U.S. carriers; mishaps during carrier landings, 1945.
• Naval Ordnance Report: Naval Mines — a training film discusses the history and functions of common naval mines, 1954.
• Introduction to TALOS — Navy training film about the tactical capabilities, operation, and nomenclature of the TALOS missile system, 1958.
• Project Bullseye — training film describes the key components of the Bullseye direction finding capability used by Navy aircraft; the Wollenweber antenna system; the four phases of Bullseye’s operation, 1966.
• The First Infantry Division in Vietnam — chronicles the major Vietnam battle actions of the Division known as the Big Red One; civic action projects, 1971.
• To Help Man Fly: Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) 25th Anniversary, 1951-1976 — NFDA, 1976.
2. Moving Images Relating to John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration, 1960, [330-X] (1135970); approximately 30 titles. This series includes films of the inaugural, parade, and ceremonies for President Kennedy, 1961. NFDA.
3. Motion Picture Films, ca. 1961-1964, [330] (61239); seven titles.
• Berlin Duty — NFDA, ca. 1962.
4. Motion Picture Films Relating to Vietnam, 1965-1976, [330-A] (61247); 565 titles. This series consists of weekly film reports of the various activities of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. NFDA.
Remeber that there are over 5545 other films to investigate within this RG.
'Til next time.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, RG 330
1918-1985, 5556 reels
This RG is divided into eight moving image series, of which four contain film titles.
1. Motion Picture Films and Video Recordings on Four Decades of U.S. Military Activities Around the World , ca. 1950-1990, [330-DVIC] (561934); 461 titles. This series consists of edited and unedited documentary footage selected from Department of Defense, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force collections previously housed at the Defense Visual Information Center. The footage includes historical events, training exercises, and military combat in Vietnam, Grenada, Somalia, and Lebanon as well as other military events around the world. Also included are scenes of military aircraft, experimental aircraft, weapons systems, vehicles, naval ships, and research and development activities. Peacetime activities include coverage of humanitarian efforts. The series title is incorrect; the films cover the time period WWI through the mid-1980s.
• World War I Land and Sea Combat Footage, 1916-1918 — President Wilson, General Pershing, French Marshal Foch, and General Joffre; devastation on the Western Front; trench warfare; peasants; submarine hunting; cavalry; tanks; the grave marker for the first American soldiers who died on French soil, 1919.
• Byrd Antarctic Expedition — first flight over the South Pole; members of the Byrd party dig out and reassemble the Ford Tri-motor airplane named Floyd Bennett; feeding porpoises; loading gear into plane; the plane takes off; flying over a frozen wasteland; interior shots of Byrd seated in the plane, ca. 1929.
• USS Macon (ZRS-5) Historical Footage — NFDA, 1933.
• U.S. Navy’s Outstanding Combat Photography of World War II — mostly attacks by Japanese aircraft on U.S. carriers; mishaps during carrier landings, 1945.
• Naval Ordnance Report: Naval Mines — a training film discusses the history and functions of common naval mines, 1954.
• Introduction to TALOS — Navy training film about the tactical capabilities, operation, and nomenclature of the TALOS missile system, 1958.
• Project Bullseye — training film describes the key components of the Bullseye direction finding capability used by Navy aircraft; the Wollenweber antenna system; the four phases of Bullseye’s operation, 1966.
• The First Infantry Division in Vietnam — chronicles the major Vietnam battle actions of the Division known as the Big Red One; civic action projects, 1971.
• To Help Man Fly: Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) 25th Anniversary, 1951-1976 — NFDA, 1976.
2. Moving Images Relating to John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration, 1960, [330-X] (1135970); approximately 30 titles. This series includes films of the inaugural, parade, and ceremonies for President Kennedy, 1961. NFDA.
3. Motion Picture Films, ca. 1961-1964, [330] (61239); seven titles.
• Berlin Duty — NFDA, ca. 1962.
4. Motion Picture Films Relating to Vietnam, 1965-1976, [330-A] (61247); 565 titles. This series consists of weekly film reports of the various activities of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. NFDA.
Remeber that there are over 5545 other films to investigate within this RG.
'Til next time.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
Friday, January 23, 2009
An Example...
OK, I guess its time to take a look at an example of what I've been talking about.
Records of the Bureau of the Census, RG 29
1937-1980, 147 reels
Moving Images Relating to the Taking of the Census, 1937-1980, [29] (7005); 32 titles. This series consists of films that relate to the taking of the census, the training of enumerators for the 1940 Census, censuses of 1950, and related issues like migration, employment condition, vital statistics, and age and sex distribution. Included are PSAs by sports celebrities and entertainers.
• 1940 Census — explains the purposes and value of the census; census history; the responsibility of enumerators; dramatizes a census takers experience with a woman reluctant to answer his questions; editors, punch card machine operators, and statisticians work at compiling reports; Director Austin speaks on enumerator’s abilities, 1940.
• Roll Call U.S.A. — 1960 census takers at work; in rural homes; training classes; visiting an air base, a merchant ship, college dormitories, a hospital, the Chicago slums, and a Greyhound Bus Terminal; census workers prepare enumeration district maps, reproduce maps on Xerox machines, operate electronic calculating machines, and microfilm records; George Stone and Dr. Philip Hauser discuss Census operations, 1960.
• Franco Harris — a PSA by the football great for the 1980 Census, 1980.
There is some great stock footage here. Remember, there are 29 more films within this RG for you to explore and I hope you will take the time to log on to ARC and check them out.
More next time.
Phil
www.pwstewart.com
Records of the Bureau of the Census, RG 29
1937-1980, 147 reels
Moving Images Relating to the Taking of the Census, 1937-1980, [29] (7005); 32 titles. This series consists of films that relate to the taking of the census, the training of enumerators for the 1940 Census, censuses of 1950, and related issues like migration, employment condition, vital statistics, and age and sex distribution. Included are PSAs by sports celebrities and entertainers.
• 1940 Census — explains the purposes and value of the census; census history; the responsibility of enumerators; dramatizes a census takers experience with a woman reluctant to answer his questions; editors, punch card machine operators, and statisticians work at compiling reports; Director Austin speaks on enumerator’s abilities, 1940.
• Roll Call U.S.A. — 1960 census takers at work; in rural homes; training classes; visiting an air base, a merchant ship, college dormitories, a hospital, the Chicago slums, and a Greyhound Bus Terminal; census workers prepare enumeration district maps, reproduce maps on Xerox machines, operate electronic calculating machines, and microfilm records; George Stone and Dr. Philip Hauser discuss Census operations, 1960.
• Franco Harris — a PSA by the football great for the 1980 Census, 1980.
There is some great stock footage here. Remember, there are 29 more films within this RG for you to explore and I hope you will take the time to log on to ARC and check them out.
More next time.
Phil
www.pwstewart.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
ARC and Stuff
Hi again-
I trust you had a wonderful holidays.
Before I go much farther, I guess I should clarify my intent. One of the purposes of this blog is to generate interest in what I consider an untapped resource of film footage that is owned by the American people. The problem is that most Americans don't seem to know it exists. Therefore, this blog is designed to provide information and assist writers, researchers, historians, film and video makers, content producers, genealogists, and many others in locating the historically rich, celluloid-based, moving images preserved in the motion picture film holdings of the U.S. National Archives. To do this I plan to provide a synopsis of each RG held in the National Archives that contains films and annotate a few example titles. My hope is that this will be enough information for those interested to dig more deeply either on line via ARC or in person at Archives II.
Now, a few words about ARC. The Archival Research Catalog is NARA’s latest computer based research tool to provide access to the content and physical descriptions of all their archival holdings. The stated goal is to have 95 percent of all records input into ARC by 2016. As this book goes to press, over 63 percent have been cataloged. Obviously, ARC is still far from complete. In fact, the current NARA mantra appears to be, “just because it’s not in ARC doesn’t mean that it’s not in our holdings.” As such, some of the information presented in this book is subject to change without notice. Unfortunately, ARC is not the most user friendly computer database program in the world to use. It drives more than one professional researcher I know crazy when they try to use its search functions. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to use ARC to review the latest catalog updates and to fully explore the RGs and their individual series listed in the following pages. The ARC main web page is located at: www.archives.gov/research/arc and has much more detailed information for your review.
'Till next time.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
I trust you had a wonderful holidays.
Before I go much farther, I guess I should clarify my intent. One of the purposes of this blog is to generate interest in what I consider an untapped resource of film footage that is owned by the American people. The problem is that most Americans don't seem to know it exists. Therefore, this blog is designed to provide information and assist writers, researchers, historians, film and video makers, content producers, genealogists, and many others in locating the historically rich, celluloid-based, moving images preserved in the motion picture film holdings of the U.S. National Archives. To do this I plan to provide a synopsis of each RG held in the National Archives that contains films and annotate a few example titles. My hope is that this will be enough information for those interested to dig more deeply either on line via ARC or in person at Archives II.
Now, a few words about ARC. The Archival Research Catalog is NARA’s latest computer based research tool to provide access to the content and physical descriptions of all their archival holdings. The stated goal is to have 95 percent of all records input into ARC by 2016. As this book goes to press, over 63 percent have been cataloged. Obviously, ARC is still far from complete. In fact, the current NARA mantra appears to be, “just because it’s not in ARC doesn’t mean that it’s not in our holdings.” As such, some of the information presented in this book is subject to change without notice. Unfortunately, ARC is not the most user friendly computer database program in the world to use. It drives more than one professional researcher I know crazy when they try to use its search functions. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to use ARC to review the latest catalog updates and to fully explore the RGs and their individual series listed in the following pages. The ARC main web page is located at: www.archives.gov/research/arc and has much more detailed information for your review.
'Till next time.
Phil
http://www.pwstewart.com/
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