A Short History of Holmes' Film Work

The Early Years

Burton Holmes had already been giving travel lectures for four years when he began to investigate the new moving picture technologies that were being developed in Europe and America. By the mid-1890's Edison and the Lumière brothers had demonstrated films to the public. But their equipment was all hand-built, and you couldn't just walk into the retail store and buy a movie camera.

Burton Holmes and Herford T. Cowling, Japan, 1917
© BHHC; All Rights Reserved

Holmes was a serious and capable photographer; his first real job had been as clerk in a camera store. He knew who was developing the neatest technologies, and in 1897 sent his cameraman and associate Oscar Depue to Paris to buy a camera from Léon Gaumont. [Click here for more information on the development of early cinema.]

Thayer Soule, in On the Road with Travelogues, wrote, "In 1897 Holmes introduced the first travel movies, not part of the show, but presented afterward, as a novelty. The first were 25-second sequences that had no connection with the subject of the show, or with each other: A police parade in Chicago, the Omaha fire department responding to an alarm, or Neapolitans consuming spaghetti. They were black and white, of course, but created a sensation. In charge of this new department was Oscar Depue, an inspired technician, who became Holmes' partner.

"Their first camera was a bulky French contraption that used film 60mm wide, fed unperforated into the camera. The camera, operated by a hand crank, perforated the film as it went through, sending a shower of confetti-like bits out the side. For projection, the camera gate and sprocket assembly were transferred to the projector to insure proper registration. A carbide lamp provided the illumination. Its white, hot flame was dangerously close to the film, which was cellulose nitrate, hightly exposive. Foamed off loose into a barrel, it presented a perfect opportunity for an expolsion. In later years both men marveled they hadn't blown themselves up! Holmes, even half a century later, carried in his wallet a short piece of that first 60mm film. When Vistavision, Cinemascope, and Todd-AO came along with their huge screens, people marveled at the width of the film, almost double the standard 35mm.

"'You mean,' BH would say, handing them that strip of film, 'something like this?'

"'That's it. Just like that. Boy, this new film is terrific.'

"BH would smile. 'We used this back in 1897,' he said."

Soule goes on to add, "In 1902 Holmes switched to the new standard 35mm film. He used it for the next 38 years, with a safer, more efficient arc light. Oscar found a way to 'paste the films together,' as he put it, making possible longer sequences. He was the first to spool film onto reels, safer and more convenient than bins of loose footage. The film was still highly explosive, but the risk was significantly reduced. He went on to head the Burton Holmes Films laboratory in Chicago. The big sign on the water tank of their Ashland Avenue plant was a familiar sight to three generations of passengers on the elevated system. He also developed the Depue multiple sound and picture printer. It became a standard in the industy, and remained so for 40 years."

One of Holmes' early films, for the 1899-1900 season, was "Moki Land," of Native American peoples in Arizona. [Still photographs from this trip can be found in Volume 6 of his Travelogues.] Jeremy Rowe, writing in "A Photographic History of Arizona 1850 - 1920," says: "Motion picture cameras documented the Snake Dance at Walpi as early as 1899 when Oscar Depue visited the Hopi pueblo. Depue presented one of the first motion picture shows at a trading post in Canyon Diablo during a second trip to the area in 1900." [See his Photographers in Arizona 1850-1920: A History & Directory for more information on early photography in Arizona.]

George C "Professor" Hall's website on silent movies has a page on Holmes' and Depue's 1898/9 films in Arizona, with stills from the "Rattlesnake Jack" segment.

Holmes and his crew used 60mm films to supplement his slide-illustrated lectures for the next several years, switching to 35mm film for the 1902/03 season. See the full list of Lectures and Travelogues, by year, elsewhere on this site for more details on what was shown.

In the late 1970's a complete listing of all the films then still extant in the BHI archive was compiled by Bill Cartwright, Scott Goren, and Genoa Caldwell. Of particular interest was a 45-minute (1600 feet) promotional film "The Burton Holmes Story," which included short segments of some of his earliest film footage, including:

1897: USA: Chicago police; Omaha fire department
1897: England: London street scenes; Queen Victoria
1898: Philippines
1898: Hawaii: Hula girls
1900: Paris: Street scenes; Cafe de la Paix
1901: Russia: Tolstoy; Moscow; St. Petersburg and the Czar; Trans-Siberian Railroad
1901: China: Peking; street and river scenes
1901: Korea: Seoul street scenes; dancers; Inchon bay [long segment]

In addition to the short segments in this compilation film, there were other reels with more of the original footage (possibly remastered onto 35mm nitrate stock) from these same expeditions. There is also footage from New York City and Japan in 1900, and a very short segment listed as "Hopi Indians" and dated 1903, which may actually be based on film shot in 1898 and repackaged for the 1903/04 lecture season.

How much of this film survives today is anyone's guess. Many of the archived films were discovered by Jason Turner in 2003, as he cleaned up an apartment building which had been owned by his father, preparatory to selling it. Jason's father had owned a liquor store across the street from the BHI headquarters, and had rented a small cottage to Robert Mallet. Apparently, when BHI closed down, Mallett and Hollingsworth had asked Jason's father to store the films in his apartment building until they had some place else to put them. They never came back for them.

These films are now at the film museum at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Some are in very bad condition and need restoration as soon as possible; money is an issue. For more on the discovery of the films see the press release, and our pictures of the films in temporary storage.

Burton Holmes at work in the Philippines, 1898
© BHHC; All Rights Reserved

The Classic Period

In 1902 Holmes obtained the first of his many 35mm movie cameras, and immediately put it to use. By 1905 he and Oscar Depue had dozens of short film segments from their travels. Some of these still exist, in the rediscovered film archive; but some may be viewed now only as short paper print segments at the Library of Congress.

Before 1912, films could not be copyrighted as such; but their content could be protected by making paper prints of a short segment of the film, and copyrighting that paper print. There are 82 paper print segments archived in Moving Image collections in the Library of Congress. Here is a subject list of the films deposited in the Library of Congress as paper prints in 1905, including 35mm films made and shown 1902-5, approximately in order of filming:

Denmark—1 segment
Norway—13 segments
Yosemite and central California—12 segments
Yellowstone—12 segments
Grand Canyon—4 segments
Alaska—9 segments
Ireland—10 segments
Southern UK: Conwy Castle, Wales; and a squad of Seaforth Highlanders—2 segments
Japan—1 segment
Oberammergau Passion Play (a panorama from the Electric Railway)—1 segment
The Tyrolian Alps—8 segments
Switzerland—6 segments

The following three segments could have been made independently of the others, or as part of any of several shooting trips:

San Francisco: Ferry Boats—1 segment
Pasadena, California: Roman Chariot Race, and Floral Parade of Rose Festival—2 segments

Typical LC paper print strips on archive card, front and back:

card and enlargement of upper left picture ("Fourth of July Parade, Yosemite, California"—grayscale scan):

All photographs and scans by Michael Ward. We would like to give special thanks to the wonderful people at the Library of Congress Moving Image Collections, who went out of their way to help us.

Holmes and Hollywood

By 1915 Holmes had a contract with Paramount to make a weekly short travel film for general distribution. We don't have a good list of the early films. The Library of Congress' Cumulative Copyright Catalog volume for motion pictures, 1912 to 1939, lists many films 1920-22, ©Burton Holmes; and 1933-36, ©Holmes Films, Inc.; item marked [*] is ©Holmes Lectures, Inc. Additional items below marked [§] are not in the copyright list, but have been found in library or other catalog listings from [§ LC] = Library of Congress / [§ AFI] = American Film Institute / [§ THMFS] = Theodore Huff Memorial Film Society] / [§ JL] = JLewis on the TCM Fan Site.

1907

TR Reviews the Fleet [§ LC]

1915

The films shown below are probably Holmes' films for Paramount, 1915-6, though his name is not given on extant records. [compilation by Jeff Lewis]. 1 reel each. Title varies: no. 8-10 have title "Paramount Travel Series;" no. 19 has title "Special Travel Series." Paramount Pictures Corp.

#1-#7 no titles or dates available, but probably 1915

8. From the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Panama Canal as It Is Today. 27May15; MP346.
9. 4Jun15; MP348.
10. 9Jun15; MP349.
11. 14Jun15; MP353.
12. 23Jun15; MP360.
13. Ariquipa. Peru. 30Jun15; MP364.
14. 6Jul15; MP367.
15. A Race Through the Clouds. 13Jul15; MP373.
16. Payta. Piura. and Catacaos. 17Jul15; MP379.
17. 23Jul15; MP381.
18. Harbor of Callao. Peru [etc.] 30Jul15; MP387.
19. Buenos Aires. 9Aug15; MP394.
20. Rio de Janeiro. 17Aug15; MP398.
21. The Great Mines at Cerro de Pasco and Sheep Ranching in Peru. 21Aug15; MP399.
22. 30Aug15; MP408.
23. 4Sep15; MP414.
24. 13Sep15; MP418.
25. 20Sep15; MP423.
26. 29Sep15; MP428.
27. 5Oct15; MP429.
28. A Visit to a Peruvian Coffee Plantation. 13Oct15; MP432.
29. 19Oct15; MP437.
30. 26Oct15; MP443.
31. 2Nov15; MP441.
33. Buenos Aires. Argentina. 17Nov15; MP450.
34. 27Nov15; MP460.
35. 1Dec15; MP464.
36. 15Dec15; MP470.
37. 21Dec15; MP477.
38. 31Dec15; MP480.

1916

39. 3Jan16; MP486.

40. 7Jan16; MP484.
41. Australia's Unknown. 14Jan16; MP489.
42. Australia's Unknown. 19Jan16; MP494.
43. 27Jan16; MP501.

1916 (also)

Glacier National Park [Ref: William K. Everson collection: October 4, 1971 showing of the Theodore Huff Memorial Film Society, noted: "...these early Burton Holmes split-reelers (each less then ten minutes, and designed to be coupled with another short) are rather charming, not least in their deliberate picture-postcard effects, heightened by the rich toning." [§ THMFS]

1917

Wonders of the Yellowstone [§ THMFS as for Glacier, above]

1918

Sights of Suva [§ AFI]

1920

Bordeaux to Lourdes
In Finistere
In Happy Alsace [§ LC]
Malayan Motor Roads (Famous Players - Lasky Corp.) [§ JL]
The Snow-Bound Pyrenees

1921

Across the Grand Canyon
Alexandria
All Aboard for Brindisi
Along the Riviera
At the Wailing Wall
Bazaars of Cairo
Beautiful Bermuda
Biskra, the Beautiful
Boro-Bodor and the Bromo
Calling on the Sphinx
Catching Up in Canton
City of Algiers
Christian Crusaders in Constantinople [*]
Country Life in Bohemia
Cruise to Vera Cruz
Fairy Foreland
Galata Bridge
Garden of the East
In Barcelona
In Batik Land
In New Madrid
In Old Granada
In Shanghai and Macao
Jerusalem, the Holy City
Kwang-Chow-Fu
Liberated Jerusalem
A Little Atlantis
Marseilles
Marvelous Manhattan
Memories of Old Malacca
Mexican Oil Fields
Modern Aspects of Japan [§ JL]
Modern Jerusalem
Monte Carlo
Nice and Cannes
Palma de Majorca
A Polynesian Odyssey
Present-Day Prague
Rice Fields and Rice-Fed Wrestlers of Japan
The Road to the Pyramids
Rural Java
Santa Fe
Seeing San Marino
Seville in Fair Time
Solomon's Temple
Spanish Children
Spanish Holidays
Toledo and Segovia
Torrid Tampico
Under Cuban Skies
Watching the Wayangs

1922

Along the Rio Grande
At the Damascus Gate of Old Jerusalem
First Families of America
Lake Maggiore
Stamboul

1923

Melting Pot of the Pacific [§ AFI]

1926

Indian Durbar [§ LC]

1930

China's Old Man River bw-(2R) -Oct 1, 1930 "Before signing on James FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks, the studio briefly backed the great Burton Holmes, who later joined Universal." [§ JL]
Modern Madrid bw-(1R) -Nov 17, 1930 [§ JL]
Through The Yangtze Gorges part c (2-color Technicolor)-(1R) -Nov 21, 1930 [§ JL]
Dublin And Nearby bw-(1R) -Dec 1, 1930 [§ JL]
Into Morocco bw-(1R) -Dec 1, 1930 [§ JL]
Peeps At Pekin bw-(1R) -Dec 1, 1930 [§ JL]
Spain's Maddest Fiesta bw-(1R) -Dec 1, 1930 [§ JL]
The Sultan's Camp Of Victory bw-(1R) -Dec 8, 1930 [§ JL]
A Tale Of The Alhambra bw-(1R) -Dec 8, 1930 [§ JL]
Glories Of Nikko bw-(1R) -Dec 15, 1930 [§ JL]
Busy Barcelona bw-(1R) -Dec 29, 1930 [§ JL]
That Little Bit Of Heaven bw-(1R) -Dec 29, 1930 [§ JL]

1931

The Real Hollywood [§ BHHC]

1933

American Legion Parade [H. T. Cowling]
Around the Fair With Burton Holmes [H. T. Cowling]
Belgian Village [H. T. Cowling]
A Century of Progress Exposition: Sally Rand [§ LC]
A Century of Progress Exposition: Sky-Rides [§ LC]
Darkest Africa [H. T. Cowling]
Enchanted Island [H. T. Cowling]
Events of the World's Fair [H. T. Cowling]
Exhibits of the Fair [H. T. Cowling]
Fair at Night [H. T. Cowling]
Fair from the Air [H. T. Cowling]
Indian Village [H. T. Cowling]
Lama Temple [H. T. Cowling]
Opening Day Ceremonies {and the Queen and Her Court [§ LC]} [H. T. Cowling]
Streets of Paris [H. T. Cowling]
Wings of a Century [H. T. Cowling]
World a Million Years Ago [H. T. Cowling]

1934

1934 The World's Fair
1934 Villages of the World's Fair
1934 World's Fair at Night
1934 World's Fair Black Forest
1934 World's Fair from the Air
1934 World's Fair Wings of a Century

1936

Alluring Bali
Ethiopia [Narrator: Harlow Wilcox [§ LC]]
Historic Rhineland

By 1939 BHI was producing and copyrighting educational and vocational films for the industrial market. While they continued to produce film programs for the lecture series, we do not find these by name in the copyright catalogs. The LC Motion Picture Copyright Volume for 1940-1949 = [§ LC 49] lists many educational films made during this period. Films marked [§ LWS 49] are in the 1940-9 copyright guide, but are credited to A. P. Twogood at Vocational Guidance Films, Inc., for the Life Work Series, and may have nothing to do with BHI — though BHI did many vocational films for the Life Work Series.

1939

More Life in Living [National Dairy Council]

1940

Automotive Service [§ LC 49]
Journalism [§ LC 49]
Radio and Television [§ LC 49]
The Woodworker [§ LC 49]

1941

America Learns to Fly [National Dairy Council]
The Metal Working Lathe [§ LC 49]
Plain Turning on the Metal Working Lathe [§ LC 49]

1943

Capacitance [§ LC 49]
Radio Shop Techniques [§ LC 49]

1944

Inductance [§ LC 49]
R C L [§ LC 49]

1945

Agriculture [§ LWS 49]
Bookkeeping and Accounting [§ LWS 49]
Heating and Air Conditioning [§ LWS 49]

1946

Baking Industry [§ LC 49]
Forestry and Forest Industries [§ LC 49]
Laundering and Dry Cleaning [§ LC 49]
Photography [§ LC 49]
The Restaurant Operator [§ LC 49]
Teaching [§ LC 49]
Telephone and Telegraph [§ LC 49]
Transportation (Bus, Truck, Taxi) [§ LC 49]

1947

Air Transportation [§ LC 49]
Fire and Police Service [§ LC 49]
The Librarian [§ LC 49]
Printing [§ LC 49]

1949

Grinding and Use of Basic Lathe Tool Cutter Bits [§ LC 49]

Undated and by reference only:

Bustling Brussels
Beautiful Bruges
Going to Vollendam. These three were described August 27, 1963 [§ THMFS] "The first two items seem early indeed, certainly prior to World War One judging from the costumes, the limited amount of motor transport, and the greater quantities of horse-drawn wagons. Photographically it is quite polished, and there is one really expert dissolve, presumably done in the camera. The third segment seems to be from a much later period, presumably the early or mid 1920's."

Happy Hawaii (1928) ??? A Burton Holmes four reel travelogue.

[More to come.]

Update history: This page originally created 29 September 2004. Latest revision 27 October 2011.