History of the Cinema, 1895-1940

The books behind the world's entertainment industry

Edited by Kenneth Short
Advisory editors: Eileen Bowser, Ian Jarvie, Garth Jowett, Sam Kula, Daniel Leab, Anne G. Schlosser, David Welch, D. J. Wenden
Consultant: Anthony Slide

`A wonderful new tool for the serious study of early cinema history.'
Jean Firstenberg, Director, The American Film Institute

Cinema in the pre-war world was more than entertainment. Then more than today it reflected and sometimes shaped public attitudes and concerns. The History of the Cinema is a major research collection that brings together on microfiche a wide-ranging selection of the world's most significant movie books and pamphlets published before 1940. Created in response to the dramatic increase of interest in the history of cinema in the academic world, the collection provides essential materials for the study of one of the most important cultural influences of the twentieth century.

Nearly 1,000 titles have been chosen by a distinguished editorial board of cinema historians and bibliographers from the holdings of major American and European film resource centres. The editors' aim has been to create for academic and large public libraries a base collection on the cinema which could support both teaching programmes and research.

The books and pamphlets range in subject from contemporary studies in the sociology of the cinema to Hollywood novels, biographies of stars and how-to books on screenwriting. They record the history of the cinema from its birth, through the coming of sound and into its most brilliant and formative years and include many titles that would be difficult or impossible to acquire today.

3,574 microfiche with printed guide and index

Guide: Guide to the History of the Cinema

Cataloguing on MARC tapes in LC MARC format