High-class moving pictures : Lyman H. Howe and the forgotten era of traveling exhibition, 1880-1920 / Charles Musser in collaboration with Carol Nelson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Musser, Charles, author.

Nelson, Carol, 1944- author.

Series:

Princeton legacy library.

Princeton Legacy Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Howe, Lyman H., 1856-1923.

Howe, Lyman H.

Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Biography.

Motion picture producers and directors.

Motion pictures--United States--Marketing--History.

Motion pictures.

Silent films--United States--History and criticism.

Silent films.

Motion picture industry--United States--History.

Motion picture industry.

Popular culture--United States.

Popular culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (387 pages) : illustrations, photographs.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 1991.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The entrepreneur of phonograph concerts and motion-picture programs Lyman H. Howe was the leading traveling exhibitor of his time and the exemplar of an important but until now little examined aspect of American popular culture. This work, with its numerous and lively illustrations, uses his career to explore the world of itinerant showmen, who exhibited all motion pictures seen outside large cities during the 1890s and early 1900s. They frequently built cultural alliances with genteel city dwellers or conservative churchgoers and in later years favored "high-class" topics appealing to audiences uncomfortable with the plebeian nickelodeons. Bridging the fields of American studies and film history, the book reveals the remarkable sophistication with which exhibitors created their elaborate, evening-length programs to convey powerful ideological messages. Whether depicting the Spanish-American War, the 1900 Paris Exposition, or British colonialism in action, Howe's "cinema of reassurance" had many parallels with the music of John Philip Sousa.Originally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

2. Traveling Exhibits: Howe 's Early Years, 1856-1890

3. Photographers of Sound: Howe and the Phonograph, 1890-1896

4. Lifelike Pictures: Howe's Animotiscope, 1896-1897

5. Culture in Conflict: Howe Moves into the Opera Houses, 1897-1899

6. Hard Times for the Roadmen: Lyman H. Howe, the Premier Traveling Exhibitor, 1899-1902

7. The Proliferation of Traveling Exhibitors: Howe Forms Multiple Companies, 1903-1905

8. The Nickelodeon Crisis: Howe Moves into the Big Cities, 1905-1908

9. Motion Pictures under Attack: Howe Provides a Model Cinema, 1908-1911

10. A New Generation of Roadmen: Howe Faces Renewed Competition, 1911-1915

11. Later Years: 1916-1933

12. Conclusion

Appendix A. Howe: A Civic Leader

Appendix B. Exhibition Patterns among Traveling Motion Picture Showmen, 1896-1904

Appendix C. Selected Film Exhibitions in Wilkes-Barre, 1896- 1919

Appendix D. Selected Film Exhibitions in Philadelphia, 1908- 1916

Appendix E. Howe Exhibitions in Selected Cities

Appendix F. Howe Filmography

Appendix G . Documents

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [315]-354) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-691-60494-0

0-691-63394-0

1-4008-7272-3

OCLC:

933515832