Wisconsin: Walter Barnsdale, 1901. Vintage US one sheet lithographic poster for the 1901 documentary film short. One of the earliest silent documentary film shorts, created by early Wisconsin film pioneer Walter Barnsdale, who traveled around the state screening some of the first films ever made, including "Prison Bars," a film featuring the Wright Brothers, and a Western starring sharpshooter Buffalo... (read more) about Prison Bars (Original poster for the 1901 documentary film)

Los Angeles: Fox Film Corporation, 1931. Script for the 1932 pre-Code film. A drama about the extreme hazards of marrying for money, featuring early performances by Joan Bennett and Spencer Tracy. Bennett begins as a poor girl from Missouri, the daughter of a railway brakeman. Tracy works for the same railway line as an engine driver, who loves Bennett but... (read more) about She Wanted a Millionaire (Original screenplay for the 1932 film)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1927. Shooting script for the 1928 film. Original typescript with descriptive text in black type and intertitles in red type. Holograph ink and pencil notations on the front wrapper, noting starring performers, draft type, and crediting screenwriter Meehan. With a few notations in holograph pencil throughout. Based on the 1923 Broadway play by David Belasco... (read more) about Laugh, Clown, Laugh (Original screenplay for the 1928 film, original typescript with red...

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1930. Collection of six vintage photographs from the 1930 film. All but one with a mimeo snipe on the verso. Based on the 1913 play by Edward Sheldon, about an aristocratic young man who falls in love with an opera star. Nominated for Best Director for Clarence Brown and Best Actress for Greta Garbo, who... (read more) about Romance (Collection of 6 original photographs from the 1930 film)

N.p. N.p., Circa 1933. Original dialogue notes for the 1933 Tod Browning film, "Fast Workers." Handwritten notes on two pages of legal-size notebook paper in holograph pencil, presumed to belong to one of the screenwriters for the film. The notes are as follows, with several lines marked through in various places:[First page]Spike: What'd you do to her, when you found..... (read more) about Fast Workers (Original dialogue notes for the 1933 film)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1927. Draft script for the 1927 silent film "Mockery," seen here under two early draft titles "Terror" and "The Harelip." Lon Chaney is a half-witted Russian peasant who is promised food and a place to live if he escorts a Countess (Bedford) safely home. He does so, despite becoming caught up in the Bolshevik revolution... (read more) about Mockery [Terror] [The Harelip] (Original screenplay for the 1927 film)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1928. Draft script for the 1928 silent film. Lon Chaney is an undercover police detective who attempts to catch a thief notorious for slipping out of criminal charges by killing any witnesses set to testify against him, though Chaney can't help but simultaneously get wrapped up with an attractive flapper along the way. Chaney hand-picked... (read more) about While the City Sleeps (Original screenplay for the 1928 film)

New York: Putnam, 1925. First Edition. INSCRIBED by the author: "To: Sidney Williams - who ushered 'Grass' into Philadelphia / and made it grow / and to whom the author of this book owes a very real debt of gratitude / Merian C. Cooper." Based on the silent documentary film, released the same year. Scarce to find in jacket or... (read more) about Grass (First Edition, inscribed by Merican C. Cooper)

Hollywood: RKO Radio Pictures, 1932. Vintage double weight reference photograph from the 1932 film. A rare glimpse behind the scenes of a film that was a triumph of design, practical effects, and cinematography. Fay Wray, the actors playing the natives of Kong Island, and the crew prepare for one of the film's most memorable scenes: Ann Darrow (Wray) being brought... (read more) about King Kong (Original double weight photograph from the set of the 1933 film)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1933. Original American program for the 1933 film, with an original illustration by Hirschfeld and a striking photo of Jean Harlow on the front wrapper. Rarely in the 1930s was such excellent source material successfully combined with such stellar screenwriting, directing, and acting talent. Today the film plays equally well as both comedy and drama... (read more) about Dinner at Eight (Original Film Program)

Various cities: Various. An archive of books and personal material belonging to Arline de Haas, noted author of the photoplay edition for the first talking film, “The Jazz Singer” (1927). Included is her leather-bound presentation copy of her novelization of the film, a work that caused a fundamental and multi-level shift in the world’s conception of cinema and dramatic storytelling..... (read more) about Archive of books and personal material belonging to writer Arline De Haas

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1933. Original film program for the 1933 film. With a striking image of Dietrich on the front wrapper, and much detail throughout regarding the production. Based on the novel by Hermann Suermann and the play by Edward Sheldon, about a country orphan who goes to Berlin to live with her aunt and who becomes the model for... (read more) about The Song of Songs (Original Film Program)

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1929. Early Treatment script for the 1929 film, the first Sherlock Holmes film to have been produced with sound, and the first to include the Holmes utterance, "Elementary, my dear Watson" (a phrase never used by Doyle), though that statement regrettably does not appear in this draft. The first known treatment was written by Oliver P. Garrett... (read more) about The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Original screenplay for the 1929 film)

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1933. Original lobby card for the 1933 pre-Code film, based on William Faulkner's 1931 novel, "Sanctuary." An interesting image from the film’s final dramatic courtroom scene. The film has a relatively upbeat ending, in which Temple tells the truth and is disgraced. This in marked contrast to the ending of Faulkner’s novel, in which Temple perjures herself..... (read more) about The Story of Temple Drake (Original lobby card from the 1933 film)

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: Gaumont, 1916. Vintage double weight matte finish still photograph from the legendary 1916 silent film serial. With the Gaumont logo at the lower right corner. The last of Feuillade's three film serial masterpieces, preceded by "Fantomas" (1913) and "Les Vampires" (1915), combining elements of both its predecessors. In Judex (Latin for "judge"), Feuillade furthered his vision of the... (read more) about Judex (Original double weight photograph from the 1916 film)

N.p. N.p., Circa 1930s. Vintage double weight photograph of director Robert J. Flaherty with a camera, circa the 1930s. With holograph pencil notations on the verso. Known as the father of documentary, Flaherty mixed real life footage with staged events to capture portraits of people surviving in extreme environments in films such as "Nanook of the North" (1922), "Moana" (1926)... (read more) about Original double weight photograph of Robert J. Flaherty with his camera

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1933. Draft script for the 1934 film. The second Tarzan film to star Johnny Weissmuller, with Jane famously portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. One of the best Tarzan films, and a landmark film in the history of film censorship. A big budget followup to MGM's first Tarzan film, "Tarzan and His Mate" featured a lengthy balletic... (read more) about Tarzan and His Mate (Original screenplay for the 1934 film)

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1931. Collection of 20 vintage studio still photographs from the 1931 pre-Code film, and the first adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's classic hard boiled novel. All but two images with the Warner Brothers / Vitaphone logo at the bottom margin. This first adaptation, made well prior to the establishment of the Hayes Code, carries a set of... (read more) about The Maltese Falcon (Collection of 20 original photographs from the 1931 pre-Code film)

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, circa 1922. Draft script for the 1922 film. The film is now considered lost. Tess (Wanda Hawley) is a social climber who is neglected by her hardworking husband, David (Edward Hearn). She decides to go on a date with ex-suitor Arthur Sinclair (Casson Ferguson) to a casino, which is robbed while they are there. Her rings are... (read more) about The Truthful Liar (Original screenplay for the 1922 film)

N.p. N.p., 1926. Vintage double weight press photograph from Hollywood beach house party, held on June 19, 1926, attended by the movie's industry elite of the day. Dated snipe on the verso notes that among those in the photo are Rudolph Valentino (who would die two months later in New York City), Pola Negri, Fatty Arbuckle, Norma Talmadge, Louella Parsons... (read more) about Hollywood stars at a Santa Monica beach party, including Rudolph Valentino, 1926 (Original double...

N.p. N.p., Circa 1920s. Vintage photograph of actor Emil Jannings, fishing from his balcony while on vacation in the Austrian town of St. Wolfgang, circa 1920s. With a French language mimeo snipe and photo agency stamp on the verso. In 1929, Jannings became the first person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, for his roles in both "The..... (read more) about Original photograph of Emil Jannings

Hollywood: Universum Film [UFA] / Paramount Pictures, 1927. Original advertising herald for the US release of the 1927 film, a shortened 115 minute version re-cut by American playwright Channing Pollock, who is credited on the herald. Interestingly, the herald credits the film as joint production of Paramount and UFA, apparently just prior to the formation of the larger umbrella production... (read more) about Metropolis (Original US herald for the 1927 film)

Berlin: Fritz Lang Film / UFA, 1929. Original German program for the 1929 film. "Woman in the Moon" is generally recognized as the first serious film to portray space travel. It was also the first to introduce the basics of rocket travel to a mass audience, including the use of a multi-stage rocket and a "countdown to zero" being used... (read more) about Woman in the Moon [Frau im Mond] (Original German Film Program)

Vienna: Illustrierter Film-Kurier, 1931. Vintage Austrian program for the 1931 German film. Lang's first sound film, Peter Lorre's breakthrough role, and the film Lang considered to be his masterpiece--an assertion that has found much agreement since. The only second piece of ephemera from the film we have ever offered. Text in German. Issue No. 262 of "Illustrierter Film-Kurier," one of... (read more) about M (Original Austrian Film Program)

Berlin: August Scherl, 1928. First Edition, preceding all others, including the movie tie-in edition, published later the same year by Scherl. Rare in dust jacket. Basis for the German silent film classic by Fritz Lang, with a screenplay adapted by von Harbou from her novel. Released in the US as "Woman in the Moon." Like "Metropolis," a novel that was... (read more) about Frau im Mond [Woman in the Moon] (First Edition)

Fox Film Corporation, 1930. Early Draft script for the 1930 pre-Code film, "Wild Company," here under the working title, "Roadhouse." An early example of a film about "rebellious youth," set during Prohibition, about the exploits of a spoiled young man who squanders his parents' money in an illicit speak-easy, and ultimately gets involved in murder. Featuring Bela Lugosi in a.... (read more) about Wild Company [Roadhouse] (Original screenplay for the 1930 film)

Los Angeles: Fox Film Corporation, 1928. Original three-color herald for the 1928 silent film, with overprints in red ink on the verso added to promote the sound version, released shortly after the initial version, reading "The latest talking sensation!" and "Janet Gaynor / Talking for the first time on the screen."All of Murnau's American films are available except "4 Devils,"... (read more) about 4 Devils [Four Devils] (Original herald from the 1928 film)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1929. Draft script for the 1929 silent film. Holograph pencil notations throughout by an unknown editor, with an unsigned typescript note of revisions to producer Hunt Stromberg bound in at the front of the script. Lon Chaney's penultimate film appearance, and his last silent film, as he would develop walking pneumonia during the film's production... (read more) about Thunder (Original screenplay for the 1929 film)

Berlin: Film-Kurier, 1929. Original program for the legendary 1929 silent film. Replete with beautiful gravure-printed production photographs, many unique to this publication. Film-Kurier was the first German film journal, published daily beginning in 1919. Film-Kurier's classic era lasted until 1933, when its publisher, Alfred Weiner, had to flee Germany because of his Jewish origins. The issues from this era remain... (read more) about Pandora's Box [Die Buchse der Pandora] (Original German program for the 1929 film)

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures / Famous Lasky Corporation, 1928. Final Draft script for the 1928 film, here under the working title "Quick Lunch." Included is a separately bound, 8-page sequence synopsis for the film. W.C. Fields' last silent film, but only the beginning of his fame. Wealthy Sam Hunter (Chester Conklin) is approached by scheming Richard Whitehead (Fields) about investing in... (read more) about Fools for Luck [Quick Lunch] (Original screenplay for the 1928 film)

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1932. First Draft script for the 1932 pre-Code film (though it is what would later be known as a revised shooting script, as it was a rewrite issued during shooting). AFI Catalog provides some context around the October 20, 1932 date on the script, revealing a somewhat troubled production that resulted in a fine film: "On 23... (read more) about No Man of Her Own (Original screenplay for the 1932 film)

N.p. N.p., 1922-1927. Archive 163 vintage photographs by Ernest B. Schoedsack detailing expeditions taken by him and filmmaking partner Merian C. Cooper between 1922 and 1927, while the pair were also filming their groundbreaking documentary films "Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life" (1925) and "Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness" (1927). With handwritten captions identifying most of the photographs. Also... (read more) about Archive of 163 original travel photographs, 1922-1927

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1928. Archive of material from the 1928 film. From the estate of actor Monte Blue, who starred in the film. Included in the archive are a carbon typescript draft script, here under the working title “Southern Skies,” four vintage photographs, each with a mimeo snipe on the verso, one with a press stamp as well... (read more) about Archive of material on "White Shadows in the South Seas" [Southern Skies] from the...

N.p. N.p., Circa 1920. Vintage oversize double weight photograph of director Raoul Walsh, shot when he was still working as an actor, notable in that he does not yet have the eyepatch that he would later become known for. Walsh suffered the loss of an eye while in a car accident on location for a film in 1928, after which... (read more) about Early photograph of Raoul Walsh (Original double weight photograph)

Edinburgh, Scotland: Cinema Quarterly, 1932-1935. First Edition. Volumes One through Three, including the first issue, of the UK film review magazine, focusing on documentary and international cinema. The highly influential magazine lit a flame as an important European literary and film quarterly, generally considered the first English-language journal devoted to film as art, specifically documentary film. The editors were Norman... (read more) about Cinema Quarterly (First UK Edition, 11 volumes)