During the recent research visit at Library of Congress Barbara Flueckiger was given this inconspicuous and mundane box.
A mundane paper box contained a major discovery at Library of Congress.
It had rested for several years in a paper collection inherited from a famous person. Only recently was it given to the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress where Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, took care of it. The box contained a spectacular selection of film samples in cardboard frames, some of them from very important and famous films.
Mike Mashon, Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress, kindly allowed Barbara Flueckiger to capture photographs of the film samples. However, she still has to wait for permission to unveil the secret.
Photographs of the cardboard frames containing the film samples were taken from a repro stand.
Meanwhile Geo. Willeman worked on a recent donation by a private collector. In addition to some exciting films it contained several cans of nitrate films in very poor condition which resulted in a literal nitrate headache and some unfavorable olfactory experiences…
Unfortunately among many exciting films donated by a private collector, Geo. Willeman discovered some cans of nitrate films that had decayed completely.
The five-day research visit at Library of Congress was super exciting and very prolific. It resulted in almost a thousand photographs taken from around 45 amazing nitrate films.
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Again many thanks to the friendly staff – especially to Mike Mashon and to Geo. Willeman – at Library of Congress for their support of Timeline of Historical Film Colors!