Media History Digital Library - 25 Years of Photoplay

[David Pierce]

The Media History Digital Library is pleased to present a near-complete digital edition of 25 years of Photoplay -- the most important fan magazine of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Scanned from the original color magazines, the MHDL's collection of Photoplay begins in 1914 and extends through 1940. The collection is open access, and each issue is searchable, and free to read and download.

Fan magazines documented the lives of movie stars, promoted their films and presented a generally rosy view of the motion picture industry. As Kevin Brownlow noted in The Parade's Gone By, "Photoplay had nothing in common with its present-day counterparts. It was a forthright, hard-hitting, well-balanced and highly entertaining publication, and it was a gold mine of information about the making of pictures." Photoplay was also filled with surprises, from Theodore Dreiser's profile of Mack Sennett to insightful coverage of Charlie Chaplin and articles by Errol Flynn.

Our digital edition of Photoplay is the cumulative result of three years of coordination and digitization -- with 24 volumes going online in July. Thank you to the collections that provided copies for scanning: Karl Thiede, Bruce Long, the Museum of Modern Art Library and the Pacific Film Archive Library and Film Study Center. Funders include Domitor, an anonymous donor (in memory of Carolyn Hauer), Richard Scheckman, and David Sorochty.

In the coming months, we look forward to delivering a wealth of early cinema publications, hundreds of books, and more broadcasting journals. We will also debut our new fulltext search platform. Thank you for everyone who has donated to us via the PayPal link on our homepage. Your contributions help support website hosting, scanning, and shipping. You keep us moving forward.

David Pierce and Eric Hoyt
Media History Digital Library
http://mediahistoryproject.org/

[mndean]

Thank you David, the recent additions have been helpful to fill in some areas of the studio era of interest to me, and I'm looking forward to whatever is upcoming.

[Brooksie]

What this resource is doing for film history research is mindblowing. Prepare to be thanked in many film books in the future, David! Thank you again.

[Bob Meyer]

Many, many thanks to you, David, and everyone involved in this project. It's outstanding and much appreciated.


Bob Meyer

[Bruce Long]

So which Photoplay issues are yet missing from the 25-year run? From the list on the Media History Digital Library site, it would seem that these dates are missing:

July-Dec 1920
Jan 1921
Jan-Jun 1923
Jul-Dec 1933
Jul-Dec 1936

Were any issues missing from the insides of bound volumes?

[mndean]

So which Photoplay issues are yet missing from the 25-year run? From the list on the Media History Digital Library site, it would seem that these dates are missing:

July-Dec 1920
Jan 1921
Jan-Jun 1923
Jul-Dec 1933
Jul-Dec 1936

Were any issues missing from the insides of bound volumes?

There were pages from issues missing here and there (not many IIRC), but I'm not sure a whole issue is. A vague memory is telling me there might be one, but it also possible it's another publication I'm remembering.

[David Pierce]

So which Photoplay issues are yet missing from the 25-year run? From the list on the Media History Digital Library site, it would seem that these dates are missing:

July-Dec 1920
Jan 1921
Jan-Jun 1923
Jul-Dec 1933
Jul-Dec 1936

Were any issues missing from the insides of bound volumes?

Thanks for the list of missing volumes, and for paying close attention!

The bound copies of the 1920s issues that have been available have had problems - either missing the covers (a very common problem for library copies) or missing too many pages inside. We'll keep looking!

David

David Pierce
Media History Digital Library
http://mediahistoryproject.org" target="_blank" target="_blank

[greta de groat]

And speaking of awesome jobs, i'm just thrilled with this project after so many years of squinting at microfilm with their horrible photo reproductions from journal where the photos are crucial. Especially when so many of the commercial digitization services are merely digitizing the microfilm or, worse yet, taking born digital materials (modern newspapers) and still digitizing the microfilm of the print version and selling it to libaries (you know who you are, Proquest)

Sure wish i could have had this when i was doing my research years ago. I'm just staggered that this is available. This is such a gift!

greta

[barry byrne]

"i'm just thrilled with this project after so many years of squinting at microfilm with their horrible photo reproductions from journal where the photos are crucial"

Me too. Also a great service to those of us not close to libraries holding these magazines and books. I would guess many libraries of the period regarded these magazines as beneath contempt and did not take them. Outside the USA, the circulation was particularly restricted, due to slow sea mail and costs. Many thanks.

It is horrible looking at some of the microfilm sets out there, inner edges missing, so guessing a word a line is obligatory. Even sadder is that some libraries dumped the good quality hard copy for inferior replacements

[Bruce Long]

So which Photoplay issues are yet missing from the 25-year run? From the list on the Media History Digital Library site, it would seem that these dates are missing:

July-Dec 1920
Jan 1921
Jan-Jun 1923
Jul-Dec 1933
Jul-Dec 1936
...

I see that the July-Dec 1920 issues have now been added at
http://archive.org/details/photoplay1819chic" target="_blank
although the scanning was a little too light.
So the issues for Jan and May 1921 seem to be the next missing issues.

[Phillyrich]

The Photoplay Collection is a real time capsule and a treasure--but does anyone have the problem I do? The print display is not real crisp and hard to read, even on my 20" HP2009 screen. Is there a way to optimize the print and images?
Has anyone downloaded the collection by year, or such?

[Bruce Long]

The Photoplay Collection is a real time capsule and a treasure--but does anyone have the problem I do? The print display is not real crisp and hard to read, even on my 20" HP2009 screen. Is there a way to optimize the print and images?
Has anyone downloaded the collection by year, or such?

You know you can zoom in repeatedly and make the text really huge?

[Christopher Jacobs]

The Photoplay Collection is a real time capsule and a treasure--but does anyone have the problem I do? The print display is not real crisp and hard to read, even on my 20" HP2009 screen. Is there a way to optimize the print and images?
Has anyone downloaded the collection by year, or such?

You know you can zoom in repeatedly and make the text really huge?

For the latest volumes added to the website, you may also need to upgrade your Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you have an edition earlier than 11 (i.e., XI), it may show an error when loading the file and have a distorted presentation of the text as well as fuzzier pictures. Some of the older issues and volumes still look fine in the older versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader (9 or 10).

Just one more problem with digitization, convenient as it obviously is. As it gets better, previous digitized versions (and readers capable of reading them) soon become obsolete and all but unusable. There's nothing like turning the pages of an actual original issue of a classic old magazine. The problem there, of course, is having the money and storage space to get them!

[entredeuxguerres]

There's nothing like turning the pages of an actual original issue of a classic old magazine.

Nothing at all...except of course a first or early edition of an important or beloved book. Appreciation for this subtle, but immensely gratifying, kinesthetic experience has never been widespread, & thanks to Kindle it's probably on the way to extinction.

[Phillyrich]

I couldn't agree more. Digital movies, digital magazines, really worry me as formats keep evolving.

I have much personal writing on 5 1/4 floppy discs--useless. Even my 3 1/2 inch discs are history (though I pulled the 3 1/2 drive out of the computer before last rites).

Maybe I should buy that used book copy of Miles Krueger's Photoplay anthology after all?

My friends' 78 rpms still play great. They've outlived the floppy disc!

[Bruce Long]

On the forward end of the Photoplay run, the Internet Archive now extends through 1943.

...There's nothing like turning the pages of an actual original issue of a classic old magazine....

Each of us has our own preferred ratio-of-interest regarding information/artifacts. For myself, I greatly prefer information instead of artifacts; at the time when I collected old Photoplays etc., I did so because that was the only way to access the information they contain. But currently, I would never buy an old magazine (no matter how cheap it is) which I can easily access for free online. And being able to do word searches in those issues is fantastic.

[Frederica]

On the forward end of the Photoplay run, the Internet Archive now extends through 1943.

...There's nothing like turning the pages of an actual original issue of a classic old magazine....

Each of us has our own preferred ratio-of-interest regarding information/artifacts. For myself, I greatly prefer information instead of artifacts; at the time when I collected old Photoplays etc., I did so because that was the only way to access the information they contain. But currently, I would never buy an old magazine (no matter how cheap it is) which I can easily access for free online. And being able to do word searches in those issues is fantastic.

I'm with you, but that's Zen Master speaking, I don't want a collection of anything except money. It's always the information I'm looking for and the search function has really made life easier. The covers are sure pretty, but I'm just as happy looking at them online.

[entredeuxguerres]

For myself, I greatly prefer information instead of artifacts...

The attitude of the vast, VAST majority, though it needn't be "either--or." Google Books searches of 19th C. periodicals & rare books have allowed me to discover infomation perhaps unavailable even in such magnificent collections as those of NYPL or LOC. But finding facts easily & cheaply is no substitute at all for the aesthetic delight of handling old paper & bindings, nor has the high-def computer screen been made that adequately recreates the pleasure of high quality book illustrations examined at close range.

[Christopher Jacobs]

For myself, I greatly prefer information instead of artifacts...

The attitude of the vast, VAST majority, though it needn't be "either--or." Google Books searches of 19th C. periodicals & rare books have allowed me to discover infomation perhaps unavailable even in such magnificent collections as those of NYPL or LOC. But finding facts easily & cheaply is no substitute at all for the aesthetic delight of handling old paper & bindings, nor has the high-def computer screen been made that adequately recreates the pleasure of high quality book illustrations examined at close range.

Exactly true. I've been downloading to my hard drive more issues of Photoplay, Moving Picture World, Film Daily, and the like than I can possibly hope to read through thoroughly, but it's so amazing that I can suddenly have an extensive run of these from the time periods I'm most interested in for quick and easy reference without having to shell out a fortune and find still more shelf space. That's why I discovered that I needed to upgrade my Adobe Acrobat reader if I wanted them to display properly.

However, that said, even with the improved scans, resolution, and compression, the information may be the same but the texture of the rotogravure photo sections, the glossy full-color advertising insert pages, and even the regular semi-gloss regular pages is a sensory experience in itself (not to mention that slightly musty scent of old paper). I doubt I'd ever consider trying to own complete runs of any of them on paper (for any number of reasons), but original hard copies of favorite issues are always a delight to read through, not to mention having physically on display when having people over to see the films they cover (in whatever convenient new digital format they might happen to be available in). I once had a nearly complete collection of Photoplay from about 1927-1930, which I did read almost cover to cover some 20-30 years ago, but most issues were heavily flood damaged back in 1997. Nevertheless, I refused to throw them away, even though now wrinkled and often with pages stuck together.

[missdupont]

All well and good, but what of us who can't update our Adobe Readers, et al, without buying new computers? Does that mean the material is now useless to us?

[Spiny Norman]

All well and good, but what of us who can't update our Adobe Readers, et al, without buying new computers? Does that mean the material is now useless to us?

Doesn't it work on older adobe versions??? Strange.

The text search option is brilliant, and has already provided me with some interesting backgrounds/publicity/photos.
What I'm more interested in is if it's possible to search all issues at once, that would be even more fantastic.

[rudyfan]

All well and good, but what of us who can't update our Adobe Readers, et al, without buying new computers? Does that mean the material is now useless to us?

I'm surprised you can't update the Adobe reader? It's free and if you are running Windows XP, I believe it should work fine. I could be wrong, though.

I do not think there is any difference, you shuld still be able to access the material in an older version of Adobe

[missdupont]

I'm on a Mac, and I can no longer upgrade for anything. In fact, Mac no longer sends me software upgrades for my computer, as it's at least 7 years old. I can still view material in MHDL, but from what Christopher Jacobs and others are saying, I won't be able to drill in as far, or get the same views. So those of us who have older machines will be left behind.

[rudyfan]

I'm on a Mac, and I can no longer upgrade for anything. In fact, Mac no longer sends me software upgrades for my computer, as it's at least 7 years old. I can still view material in MHDL, but from what Christopher Jacobs and others are saying, I won't be able to drill in as far, or get the same views. So those of us who have older machines will be left behind.

Aha, I see. Phooey.

Can't you manually upgrade?

[Bruce Long]

Well even if (for whatever reason), you are unable to read a downloaded PDF file, you can still read those magazines online.

[Spiny Norman]

I'm on a Mac, and I can no longer upgrade for anything. In fact, Mac no longer sends me software upgrades for my computer, as it's at least 7 years old. I can still view material in MHDL, but from what Christopher Jacobs and others are saying, I won't be able to drill in as far, or get the same views. So those of us who have older machines will be left behind.

This just proves apples are no better than any other computer. Contrary to film projectors that can stay operational for half a century with the proper maintenance, computers can at best get some extra memory but they're obsolete within the decade.

And this may sound blunt, but this is kinda your problem, it hasn't really got anything to do with the online magazines. The pdf format has been around for ages. But ask around on a mac forum. There are other programs for it than just adobe.

Now, how to search all of them at once for keywords, that's what I'm more interested in.

[Bruce Long]

...Now, how to search all of them at once for keywords, that's what I'm more interested in.

Well, what I do is search via google; into the google search box I type:

site:archive.org "whatever"

(where "whatever"= the phrase I am searching for. This will mainly find the .txt files in the Internet Archive which contain the words/phrase, and from the any of the individual .txt files I can click on "see other formats" to view the original version online, and search for it again or just find it from its page location in the text file.

[Christopher Jacobs]

I'm on a Mac, and I can no longer upgrade for anything. In fact, Mac no longer sends me software upgrades for my computer, as it's at least 7 years old. I can still view material in MHDL, but from what Christopher Jacobs and others are saying, I won't be able to drill in as far, or get the same views. So those of us who have older machines will be left behind.

One more reason I heavily dislike Macs, although I've got a 10-year-old iMac I used to use for DVD duplication until the duplicater went bad, and a 7-year-old G5 tower with OS-X Tiger that I still use for editing video and authoring DVDs although it's long obsolete. My PCs are marginally better, yet I still use my 13-year-old Windows 98 laptop for some things that the XP and Windows 7 machines won't do even though they can do a few things that Windows 98 never dreamed of (and I refuse to get Windows 8 ) .

[entredeuxguerres]

One more reason I heavily dislike Macs...

Niggardliness spared me similar problems 11-12 yrs ago...because after devoting months to researching my first computer purchase--an agonizing decision!--I was convinced that Apple was the only "intelligent" choice. One insurmountable problem: the Mac laptop I had my heart set on was nearly TWICE the cost of comparable Windows models, such as the HP I finally bought--I mean about two grand vs. one. A yr ago, I bought my 2nd HP with Windows 8, which I've come to hate, but am stuck with now.

[Spiny Norman]

...Now, how to search all of them at once for keywords, that's what I'm more interested in.

Well, what I do is search via google; into the google search box I type:

site:archive.org "whatever"

(where "whatever"= the phrase I am searching for. This will mainly find the .txt files in the Internet Archive which contain the words/phrase, and from the any of the individual .txt files I can click on "see other formats" to view the original version online, and search for it again or just find it from its page location in the text file.

Adding "filetype:pdf" could also help. Trouble is, now I'm getting too many results that are not from these magazines at all. I was for example trying to find mention of a few Italian spoofs of Quo Vadis? (1913).
But I did see some interesting articles that I wasn't looking for at all.