The theme this week is Aviation. Local Identifier: 18-WP-48625, Photograph of the Wright Brothers' Camp in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 1903 Local Identifier: 165-WW-7B-6, "Wright Brothers' 1904 Aeroplane ("Kitty Hawk") in first flight, December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Orville Wright at controls. Wilbur Wright standing at right. (first flight was 12 seconds)" Local … Continue reading Images of the Week: Aviation
This post was written by guest blogger Carrie Goeringer. On December 23, 1944, weather on the island of Corsica was bleak and dreary, as it had been for most of the winter. Many of the children who lived on the island had never known a real Christmas because of the ongoing Second World War. So, the … Continue reading Corsican Kids Christmas Party With the 57th Bomb Wing 1944
A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the 110th anniversary of The Great Train Robbery, a film that pioneered editing techniques that are so commonplace as to be invisible to viewers today and is acknowledged as the first example of modern film fiction narrative. But this wasn’t the only important innovation taking place in December … Continue reading I Saw Kitty Hawk: Film, Memory, and Archives
This week I’m posting several examples of posters from the series Paper Show Exhibition Poster Sets, ca. 1974 – ca. 1994 (306-PSP). These posters were created by the United States Information Agency for exhibits they referred to as "Paper Shows", which were pieced together using multiple posters to create a multi-panel display. The entire series … Continue reading Images of the Week: USIA Paper Shows
For the last two weeks, we have been sharing films of the First Motion Picture Unit. This week, we’ll take a look at an animated film produced for the Navy by former members of the FMPU. This post was written with Criss Kovac, supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab at the National Archives. Like … Continue reading The Sailor and the Seagull: FMPU Veterans Animate Re-Enlistment Efforts
As a follow-up to last week’s post on the Army Air Force’s First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU), this week I am focusing on a title that is arguably the most significant training film produced by the unit. Considered as a federal record, Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter (1943) is an important historical document of the training … Continue reading A WWII Training Film in Action: Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter
I will admit, I didn’t know about the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit until 2007, when the Motion Picture Preservation Lab was tasked with making theater prints for a special program at the Pacific Film Archive. I may not have heard of the unit, but I certainly recognized its stars: “Hey, is … Continue reading The U.S. Military Goes Hollywood: Behind the Scenes with the First Motion Picture Unit
Today’s post is from Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab, which is responsible for performing conservation and preservation work on motion picture records held across the National Archives. Recently, she completed a digital restoration of The March. The March, the James Blue film documenting the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs … Continue reading Protecting Your Past–It’s What We Do Here: The Preservation and Restoration of The March
Today's post is from Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab, which is responsible for performing conservation and preservation work on motion picture records held across the National Archives. Recently, she completed a digital restoration of The March (306.765). On August 10th, 1963 The U.S. Government, under the auspices of … Continue reading Making The March
“I have received this afternoon a message from the Japanese Government...” At 7 pm on August 14, 1945, President Harry Truman stood before reporters gathered at the White House and announced the unconditional surrender of Japan. The Pacific War was over. Although the formal signing of the terms of surrender ending World War II would not occur until September 2nd, the … Continue reading “Celebration of V-J Day, 08/14/1945”
