This book is a superb, deeply researched study of often dismissed early writings, from Grau to Ramsaye, bent on creating a history of cinema during its very emergence, but especially of little examined practices that likewise sought to construct a sense of cinema's 'usable past'-from commercial non fiction films, revivals or re-releases, and studio commemorations to public exhibitions, university curricula, and the efforts of private collectors.
Dimitrios Latsis is a historian and digital humanist working at the intersection of archiving and visual culture. He is Assistant Professor in Digital and Audiovisual Preservation at the University of Alabama's School of Library and Information Studies. His work on American visual culture, early cinema, archival studies, and the Digital Humanities has been supported by the Smithsonian Institution, Domitor, Mellon, and Knight Foundations, and Canada's Social Studies and Humanities Research Council, among others. He is the co-editor of Art in the Cinema: The Mid-Century Art Documentary (2020) with Steven Jacobs and Birgit Cleppe.