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1909 · Into the Film IndustrySection 1 of 24 · show all
  1. 1Investigating the Field
  2. 2Background of the Industry
  3. 3Motion Picture Theatres
  4. 4New Firms Enter the Field
  5. 5The Trust
  6. 6Thanhouser Begins
  7. 7In Edwin Thanhouser’s Own Words
  8. 8Early Thanhouser Film Production
  9. 9Barry O’Neil Remembers
  10. 10Victor Heerman’s Recollections
  11. 11Equipping the Film Factory
  12. 12Edwin Thanhouser Interviewed
  13. 13A Visit to New Rochelle
  14. 14A Local Reporter Visits
  15. 15Cameras
  16. 16Motion Picture Photography
  17. 17It Wasn’t Easy
  18. 18Additional Reminiscences
  19. 19Scenarios
  20. 20Actors and Actresses
  21. 21Advertising and News Releases
  22. 22Distribution
  23. 23Growing Pains of the Independents
  24. 24Censorship

Section 1 of 24

Investigating the Field

Q. David Bowers, Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, reproduced with permission and unchanged. About 1 min.

Seeking to learn more about motion pictures, Edwin Thanhouser journeyed to New York City in the spring of 1909, where he met with Rich G. Hollaman, of the Eden Musée on 23rd Street, and Adam Kessel, Jr. of “Bison Life Motion Pictures” made by the New York Motion Picture Company, an early Independent producer.1 The Eden Musée, primarily known as a wax museum, was a pioneer in the exhibition of films and was among the first in New York City to include motion pictures among its various attractions,2 which also included such exhibits and entertainment as statuary, art objects, and live performances on a small stage. For the next six months Thanhouser studied the field and met with others in the trade. Confident that he was making the right move, he launched his motion picture business in the autumn.

Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.

Footnotes

  1. NYMP’s first release was A Disinherited Son’s Loyalty, released May 21, 1909. Like many early companies, the NYMP had several different corporate identities, which served to confuse creditors and opposition lawyers. For example, for NYMP there were two different New York corporations, one named The New York Motion Picture Company and the other named the New York Motion Picture Company, Inc.! ↩

  2. The Edengraph, an early motion picture projector, took its name from this attraction. The Eden Musée also offered a combination of films and stage acts, in which Rip Van Winkle, the Passion Play, or some other subject would be acted on a small stage, or depicted with wax figures, then a film of the same topic would be shown. The Passion Play, a pretentious 2,100 feet long, was filmed on the roof of a Manhattan building, and enchanted audiences at 25c per head in 1898. ↩