 This box is from the Library of Congress of the United States. It contains rolls of paper. Each roll is a print from the original negative of a motion picture photographed over a half a century ago. In those days, there was no copyright law to cover pictures on celluloid. To protect his product, every motion picture photographer had to submit his movie as a series of still pictures printed on paper. Sensitized paper the same width as the film offered the best method of reproducing thousands of still pictures in sequence. The result was a unique collection of paper prints rolled like film for easy handling. No one believed they would ever be useful except as proof of copyright. A few years ago we learned that many of the celluloid prints and negatives too were lost or had disintegrated. The paper prints suddenly became priceless. The only complete record of American life as seen by the first motion picture cameras from 1891 to 1912. We will show you some of the technical processes required to photograph the old paper and put it on modern fine grain film. Some of them have been wound so tightly that it is impossible to get anything as small as a lead pencil to the center. This is a good example of how time has almost defeated us. The emotion in the paper is fast disappearing like the old celluloid negative and even the paper will soon be impossible to reproduce. The lasting qualities of the first celluloid were unknown and films of those early years have become so brittle they are completely useless. Because of the advanced stage of deterioration this strip of paper will be difficult to reproduce but a large portion will be saved. Unless the paper film project is completed very soon one of the most valuable collections of Americana will be lost forever. Sprocket holes are one of the many problems in reproduction. On this one the photographic development was so poor that the picture came out black. Other paper rolls have no sprocket holes at all. Width of the paper varies some as wide as 50 millimeter. In those days every man who built a camera decided the width of a negative he would use. Therefore each paper roll presents a problem all its own in mechanics and photography. This particular piece of paper as you can see is warped completely out of shape. A pentagon effect caused by the shrinkage of the emotion. This roll will be used to show the complete processing of the paper prints. Step in the rejuvenation of the paper roll is to submerge it in a chemical bath to soften the emotion so that it can be flattened, dried and run through a specially designed printer. After the chemical bath the paper is submerged in clear water and washed for a considerable time to remove the chemicals. Next step in the process is to run the paper through a converted rotary dryer. The paper is centered to go through the dryer picture side down so when it comes out there will be a glazed surface on the paper. The shiny surface gives better contrast and is more conducive to photographic reproduction. Next is the printing or photographing of the paper roll. This must be done meticulously. The unsteadiness of the hand cranked camera as well as the inherent error in the paper print must be corrected. Unless this is done the finished product will have no eye appeal when it is projected. The original dance, flicker or jerk would be so magnified as to make viewing almost impossible. It is a slow and tedious job. It must be photographed frame by frame. The paper is photographed it is interleaved which has been specially cut and is a fraction of an inch wider than the print itself. The interleaving is done to protect the rolls from handling and the effects of time. The completed rolls are labeled showing the copyright number and the name of the original photographer. Every celluloid print is viewed on the screen and inspected for photographic defects before the new negative print and paper roll is returned to the Library of Congress. We will show you a 16 millimeter moving picture across section of titles each of them over a half century old and the only motion picture of these historical events. First is the sneeze. The first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States. The application was submitted in 1891. Hopefully all the 13th in 1896. These are the first motion pictures ever taken inside the Vatican. As a point of interest where this man alive today he would be 150 years old. Nicholas Murray Butler installed as president of the Columbia University in 1991. Here are two people who attended the proceedings. Andrew Carnegie and Teddy Roosevelt. Admiral Dewey aboard his flagship Olympia being welcomed during his European tour at the close of the Spanish-American War. He is seen being welcomed on shore. This is the first submarine inventor John P. Holland coming out of the hatch in 1898. All modern fire engines. First automobile parade New York City 1902. Notice how these handsome cabs set the basic design for the automobile. This was the first assemblage of automobiles from all parts of the world. Here is a man who was sure his invention would work. Flying machine that preceded the Wright brothers by two years. Ludlow Airdrome 1901. Madison Square New York City 1902. Christy Matheson 1st of the Baseball Grates. Squires Burns Fight. Ocean View California 1907. After inspection prints are returned to their individual containers. Paper rolls are put into boxes labeled and sent back to the Library of Congress. This is just a small portion of the task we have undertaken. To date 70,000 feet of paper rolls have been reclaimed. There are approximately 2 million feet of paper prints yet to be photographed. This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress. Visit us at loc.gov.