Library of Congress's Blog, page 182

Centennial of Cinema Under Copyright Law

(The following is an article from the September-October 2012 issue of the Library’s new magazine, LCM, highlighting 100 years of Copyright law.)

By Wendi A. Maloney

1913 poster advertising Edison's kinetoscope films. / Prints and Photographs Division

A hundred years ago, a new category of work became subject to copyright protection: motion pictures. The Townsend Amendment to the U.S. copyright law took effect Aug. 24, 1912, creating one class for dramatic motion pictures and one class for newsreels and similar material.

A May 1912 House of Representatives report explained:

The production of … motion pictures … has become a business of vast proportions. The money therein invested is so great and the property rights so valuable that the committee is of the opinion that the copyright law ought to be so amended as to give to them distinct and definite recognition and protection.”

At the urging of the movie industry, the amendment also limited statutory damages that could be awarded against movie studios for innocent infringement of nondramatic works.

The first year the Copyright Office accepted motion-picture applications, it registered 892 movies. One of the earliest was “The Charge of the Light Brigade” registered by famed inventor Thomas Edison on Sept. 26, 1912.

Edison was a prolific filmmaker whose studio produced movies on diverse topics for many years. In 1894, his firm registered “Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze,” the earliest surviving motion picture deposited with the Copyright Office. The deposit consisted of a series of still photographs printed on photographic paper.

This 1894 image consists of a series of 45 frames for Edison's kinetoscopic movie showing a man, Fred Ott, sneezing. / Prints and Photographs Division

Before inclusion of motion pictures in the copyright law, copyright owners typically registered their movies as a collection of still photographs, which the law had covered since 1865. More than 3,000 paper copies of films in that format were deposited with the Copyright Office. Many of these early films—transferred to film stock in the 1950s—are now accessible in the Library’s collections.

After 1912, copyright owners started to deposit film. Because most film at that time was made on flammable nitrate stock, the Library chose not to house it. Instead, film deposits were returned to claimants, and the Library retained only descriptive material. This practice changed in 1942 when, recognizing the importance of motion pictures to the historical record, the Library began to request the return of selected works, including films made before 1942.

Nitrate film was phased out of production in 1951, replaced by nonflammable “safety stock.” The Library’s collection of nitrate film is now substantial, thanks mostly to donations from movie studios, said Mike Mashon, head of the moving-image section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. Other donations have come from individual collectors and estates, including that of Edison.

As donations arrive, staff at the Library’s film-preservation laboratory in Culpeper, Va, make copies on safety stock. “We’re still acquiring nitrate films today,” Mashon said. “Gaps exist, but our collection effort has been quite successful.”

Download the September-October 2012 issue of the LCM in its entirety here. You can also view the archives of the Library’s former publication from 1993 to 2011.

MORE INFORMATION

Learn more about Edison and his work

Visit the Motion Picture, Broadcast and Recorded Sound Division

View “Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze”

InRetrospect: September Blogging Edition

Here’s a roundup of some September selections in the Library blogosphere.

In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog

New Dance Collections in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia (PAE)

Presentations on Bronislava Nijinska and the Ballet Russes de Serge Diaghilev are now featured in the PAE.

 The Signal: Digital Preservation

Yes, the Library of Congress Has Video Games: An Interview with David Gibson

David Gibson, a Moving Image technician at the Library, talks about the acquisition and preservation of games.

 Picture This: Library of Congress Prints & Photos

Caught Our Eyes: Better With Butter

Butter sculptures found in the Library’s photo collections.

From the Catbird Seat: Poetry & Literature at the Library of Congress

A Debut Introduction at the Festival

Poetry Center staff member Caitlin Rizzo talks about her experience at this year’s National Book Festival.

Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business

Robber Barons: Gould and Fisk

Ellen Terrell profiles Jay Gould and James Fisk Jr.

In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress

We Waived Death (and Survived!)

Claire Feikert-Ahalt talks about her experience in the Tough Mudder endurance challenge and the legality of death waivers.

Teaching with the Library of Congress

Presidential Elections: Newspapers and Complex Text

Newspapers can be rich tools in helping students understand point of view and word choice.

Congress.gov Three-Week Check-Up

(The following is a guest post from the Library’s Director of Communications, Gayle Osterberg.)

In its first three weeks of life (still a newborn!) Congress.gov has attracted almost 45,000 visitors and is approaching a quarter million page views, as people find time to explore the new site and some of its features.

It has been terrific to see the positive response on the ease of navigation, clean layout, permanent urls and general wealth of information the site offers. Here is one of my favorites, which I can’t help but share because the Library team working on this resource is outstanding and I love when they get props: “This may be the best website redesign in the history of the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” A big smile, for sure.

Also coming in are lots of other comments about things users like about THOMAS and want to see incorporated into Congress.gov. The team is reading all of them.

At the time of launch, we promised additional data like the Congressional Record, past congresses and other features will be added over time – about once each quarter. Those updates are in the works. But today, the team has gone ahead with a few modest updates, several of which address some of the early suggestions we’ve received, including:

Filters have been added that intercept and recognize variants to bill citations and normalize results. For example, search results will be the same whether a user inputs hjres1, H.J. Res 1, hj1 or some other variation.


Appropriations legislation now links back to the separate appropriations listing on the THOMAS.gov site. Several comments pointed out the THOMAS site maintains detailed history for current and prior years that is useful.


A status of amendment facet has been added to the amendment tabs on the legislative and amendment detail pages so you can easily track the outcomes on a particular amendment.

Two other features have been added to help with overall education about the legislative process and about the site itself. Transcripts for all legislative process videos now include links to glossary terms. And a chronology has been added to the “About” section that will itemize new and recently added or updated features, so you can check back to see what’s new.

Finally, the point of Congress.gov is to make legislative information accessible, and the goal of this beta period is to get feedback from all kinds of users so it develops into the best site possible. To help spread the word, we posted a new promotional video today on our YouTube channel about the site (see if you recognize the voice of the narrator!). We hope you’ll share the link and encourage colleagues, educators, journalists, students, and anyone interested in following the legislative process to use it.

A Letter Home

For some Union soldiers, their exposure to southern slavery profoundly altered their views on the institution, even before President Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862.

One such soldier, John P. Jones, wrote to his wife of his increasing sympathy for abolitionism after seeing the inhumanity with which slaves could be treated. He rejoiced that military policy no longer forced soldiers to return escaped slaves, which had made him feel like a “slave catcher.”

John P. Jones to his wife, August 24, 1862, Donald Benham Civil War Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

A page from his letter, sent from Medon, Tenn., and dated August 24, 1862, is a featured item in the Library’s “The Civil War in America” exhibition, opening Nov. 12. The letter has never before been seen by the public.

I am getting to be more and more of an abolitionist. I believe that this accursed institution must go down. We can never have a permanent peace as long …  as this curse stains our otherwise fair insignia. The ruler of nations can never prosper these United States until it blots slavery from existence. He can no longer wink at such atrocities. This must be the grand, the final issue. I hope the powers that be will soon see it and act accordingly. It may be that we have not suffered enough yet, that the bones of a few more thousands of soldiers must bleach in the dismal swamps of the south, that a few more homes must be desolated, that suffering and desolation be more widely sown throughout the land, but come it must, postpone it as we may.

Thank God a few bright spots are luring up in the distant horizon, small it is true. But they will expand and grow brighter. We are to guard rebel property no more, and fugitives are no longer to be returned when they come within our lines. Thank God the American Soldier is no longer to be used as a slave catcher, no longer to drive helpless women around at the point of the bayonet, and be obliged to obey orders that makes him almost ashamed of being an American Soldier.”

Jones goes on to tell his “dear wife” of trips he’s made to the country since arriving in Tennessee.

The country looks wretched and forlorn. The soil is not very good, but it might be improved a great deal by good cultivation. But the people seem to have no idea of doing anything as it should be, their farming implements look as they were invented some four years before the flood. I have seen some of the most wretched looking families, some of the most abject scenes of poverty that I ever beheld.”

The identity of John P. Jones hasn’t been positively confirmed. There is a possibility that he is John P. Jones of the 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. According to historian Michelle Krowl of the Library’s Manuscript Division, the 45th Illinois did have a John P. Jones who enlisted in October 1861, and it also had a sergeant named Crittenden, who is mentioned in the letter. However, the description that accompanied the Library’s document suggested he was Capt. John P. Jones of Missouri, whose identity Library curators have been unable to confirm.

Jones closes his letter to his wife just as vehemently as he began:

Slavery is not only a curse to the nation but also a curse to the states, to the very plantations where it is in vogue, a curse to the owners themselves and some I have found candid enough to acknowledge it, were slavery abolished, free labor and Yankee enterprise encouraged, how soon would the south become more as the prosperous north.”

Make sure to check back next Wednesday for another spotlight on other items from “The Civil War in America.” Until then, you can read about them in previous blog posts here and here.

A Grief Like No Other

Fatalities during the Civil War were not limited to the battlefield, as both first families discovered. Both the Lincolns and the Davises lost young sons within a couple of years from each other.

The Davises lost 5-year-old Joseph in 1864 when he fell to his death from their porch in Richmond, Va. According to one account from Rice University, home to the papers of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, rumors persist older brother Jeff Jr. pushed young Joseph, but there is no evidence to support this story.

Neither parent was home at the time of the accident and apparently the adults had only just arrived as their son died. A servant discovered Joseph lying on the pavement, having fallen from a height of about 15 feet. Older sister Margaret ran to the neighbors for help, and Jeff Jr. enlisted the aid of two people passing by on the street. One of these men, a Confederate officer, wrote that Joe’s “head was contused, and I think his chest much injured internally.” Following Joseph’s death, his father refused to see visitors and could be heard pacing all night.

Another account by William C. Davis, author of “Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour,” tells a slightly different story, placing both Jefferson and wife Varina home at the time of the accident. Little Jeff found his brother’s body and told his nurse, who then ran to alert the senior Davises.

Drinking polluted water piped into the White House from the Potomac River likely caused the typhoid fever to which 11-year-old Willie Lincoln succumbed in 1862. His passing was extremely hard on his family. Of his death, his father Abraham Lincoln said, “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!”

Mary Todd Lincoln grieved so intensely for Willie that her family feared for her sanity. According to Elizabeth Keckley (or Keckly), former slave and personal confidante to the first lady, Mary was “an altered woman” and she never again went into the guest room where her son died or the Green Room where he was embalmed.

Mary Todd Lincoln to Julia Ann Sprigg, May 29, 1862, Mary Todd Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.

A featured item in the Library’s soon-to-be-opened “The Civil War in America” exhibition is an autographed letter on mourning stationery from Mary Todd Lincoln to Mrs. John C. Sprigg, dated May 29, 1862, commenting on Willie’s death.

“Your very welcome letter was received two weeks since, and my sadness & ill health have alone prevented my replying to it. We have met with so overwhelming an affliction in the death of our beloved Willie, a being too precious for earth, that I am so completely unnerved, that I can scarcely command myself to write.”

According to historian Michelle Krowl of the Library’s Manuscript Division, the text of the Mary Todd Lincoln letter has been known to scholars for some time, but to the best of her knowledge the original letter has not been on view in a public repository until now.

“While the text is moving on its own, seeing the black mourning band around the edges of the stationery does add visual reinforcement to Mary’s words expressing her grief,” she said.

Make sure to check back next Wednesday for another spotlight on other items from “The Civil War in America,” which opens on Nov. 12. Until then, you can read a bit about them in last week’s blog post.

Page from the Past: A Wartime Mimeograph

(The following is an article from the September-October 2012 issue of the Library’s new magazine, LCM, highlighting a “page from the past” of the publication’s humble beginnings.)

Page from the first issue of the Library of Congress Staff Information Bulletin, Jan. 23, 1942.

With the debut of its new magazine, the Library bids a fond farewell to its predecessor, the Library of Congress Information Bulletin, which began publication 70 years ago.

The first issue of the Library of Congress Staff Information Bulletin was published on Jan. 23, 1942—nearly two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor that led to America’s entry into World War II. The publication provided the staff with wartime information such as air-raid watches, Red Cross war-relief drives and the sale of defense bonds. Staff appointments and deployments were announced, along with new policies, offices, committees and collections that arose in response to the war effort.

In July 1943, the publication was renamed the Library of Congress Information Bulletin and its audience was broadened to include the public as well as the staff. The launch of a staff newsletter—The Gazette—in April 1990 allowed the Information Bulletin to focus on its public audience.

Through improvements in technology, the Information Bulletin evolved from a mimeographed sheet to a four-color printed publication produced using digital technology. Issues dating from 1993 are accessible online.

Download the September-October 2012 issue of the LCM in its entirety here. You can also view the archives of the Library’s former publication from 1993 to 2011.

The Bull Run of the West

“Better, sir, far better, that the blood of every man, woman, and child within the limits of the state should flow, than that she should defy the federal government,” swore Union Gen. Nathaniel Lyon to Missouri governor and Confederate sympathizer Claiborne Fox Jackson during negotiations to prevent the state from joining the Confederacy.

His next words, “this means war,” were put into action after Jackson publicly declared for the Confederacy. Following a few skirmishes in June and July, Union and Confederate factions met at first light on Aug. 10, 1861, at Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield, for what would ultimately be a Southern victory by default.

Lyon’s army struck the first blow, forcing the Confederates to retreat from high ground, which later would be called “Bloody Hill.” The Confederates then launched three counterattacks, but the Union line still held.  However, the Southern army did manage to rout Union Col. Franz Sigel’s column, forcing the soldiers, many of whom were German, to flee for their lives. With this, the battle shifted in the South’s favor. Lyon had also been shot during the battle, becoming the first Union general to be killed in Civil War combat.

Although their lines remained unbroken, Union forces were exhausted and running low on ammunition. These and other considerations caused their new commander, Major Samuel D. Sturgis, to order his troops to withdraw, leaving the field to their enemy.

Sometimes called the “Bull Run of the West,” the Battle of Wilson’s Creek was the first major battle of the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Soon to be on view in the Library’s new exhibition, “The Civil War in America,” opening Nov. 12, is a rare color German lithograph — never before placed on public display — that depicts the battle in which Lyon was killed. Translated, the caption says:

The battle began in the morning of August 14 and ended in the evening with the defeat of the Union troops. According to official reports, the Union losses totaled 800 dead and wounded. The Union troops made an orderly retreat to Rolla. Unfortunately General Lyon met his death. Eight-thousand men from the North and 23,000 from the South are said to have come under fire. The Confederates (who are in rebellion against the United States) reportedly suffered heavy losses. Generals Price and McCulloch fell in battle.”

(Maj. Gen. Sterling Price commanded the Missouri State Guard, which joined forces with Confederate forces lead by Brig. Gen. Benjamin McCulloch; both generals survived the battle.)

Europeans following the events of the American Civil War especially noted the formation of regiments comprising their countrymen. An estimated 1.3 million Germans alone lived in the North and the South during the Civil War and up to 216,000 served under the Union, while 18,000 wore Confederate gray. The firm of Oehmigke & Riemschneider based in Neuruppin, Germany, produced popular prints of Civil War battles. This image depicts the death of General Lyon at the Battle of Springfield (Wilson’s Creek) in Missouri, on August 10, 1861. Lyon’s command included several regiments of German volunteers and the battle was important news in Neuruppin.

The title of the image, “Die Schlacht bei Springfield in Nord Amerika” (The Battle of Springfield in North America), might be a source of confusion. According to Margaret Wagner, author of “The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the Civil War,” the battle depicted in this rare lithograph is most commonly known as the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Since the battle occurred fairly close to Springfield, however, one alternative name for the engagement (and the name used by the German lithographers) is the Battle of Springfield.

Make sure to check back next Wednesday for another spotlight on other items from “The Civil War in America.” Until then, you can read a bit about them and the exhibition here.

A Book (Festival) With a Happy Ending

The 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival closed up shop Sunday evening – leaving more than 200,000 delighted book-lovers thrilled to have heard from and met their favorite authors, stoked up with new titles to read, and exhilarated by two days of gorgeous fall weather there on the National Mall.

Nice light show, but no rain, for NBF12

One couple even got engaged in the book-signing line for graphic novelist Craig Thompson!

I may be biased, but I’m also in a position to know: as the project (operational) manager for the festival, I can attest that things did indeed run smoothly, and there were few hang-ups or hitches.

That was largely the result of a great team at the Library of Congress (thanks, gang!) and no fewer than 1,200 volunteers who trained specially to provide information, service and safety to the hordes of happy guests. Thanks to all you volunteers, from the Library, the general public and the Junior League of Washington – it wouldn’t have happened without you. Happy hundredth anniversary to the JLW, by the way …

No fewer than 126 authors, illustrators and poets came to the National Mall for this year’s festival, more than at any of the Library’s past 11 festivals.

Authors included Nobel-winner Mario Vargas Llosa, T.C. Boyle, Patricia Cornwell, Robert Caro, Jeffrey Eugenides, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Michael Connelly, Christopher Paolini, Junot Diaz, Thomas Friedman, Walter Isaacson, Charlaine Harris, Mike Lupica, Lois Lowry, Jeff Kinney and R.L. Stine; and a wildly popular author named John Green (“Books are like tweets, except longer”) who thanked the 1,800 people who waited in line for him.

Nothing as big as the National Book Festival can happen, however, without a few lost items.  We suspect some little one is missing the Hello Kitty toy pictured below, dropped in the Let’s Read America Pavilion near the stuffed steed of festival sponsor Wells Fargo. That your Kitty? Email me at jgav@loc.gov.

Kitty wants to come home

 

 

A Piñata of Awesomeness

(The following is a guest post from the Library’s Director of Communications, Gayle Osterberg.)

Rep. Dan Lungren (from left), Rep. Gregg Harper and Librarian of Congress James H. Billington introduced the Congress.gov beta site to the public on Wednesday. / Cecelia Rogers

It’s been a big week for the Library of Congress, as we’ve launched two exciting new resources to serve our many and varied audiences in the years ahead, and are rolling into our biggest event of the year on the National Mall this weekend.

To recap:

The new Congress.gov website is a rebuild of the THOMAS legislative information system from the ground up, enabling modern, user-friendly features that will make finding and learning about legislation and the legislative process more accessible to all. We are gratified at the positive response to the site so far and are looking forward to hearing your ongoing feedback during the site’s beta stage so it can be further refined to serve Congress and the public.

The new Library of Congress Magazine, LCM, available online, is a window into the unparalleled collections and expertise the Library offers researchers, authors, educators, creators of all kinds, and of course, Members of Congress, their staff and other government entities. As Librarian of Congress James Billington notes in the magazine’s Last Word column, we hope it will lead you to explore the millions of books, manuscripts, photos, movies, maps and music in our collection, either in person or online.

Both projects reflect more than a year of study, surveys, review of best practices, design, focus grouping, data management, content development, workflow adjustment and a litany of other details.

They are the result of the hard work of many dedicated public servants here at the Library, across many different offices. In the case of Congress.gov, many other legislative staff from the House, Senate and Government Printing Office are contributing data and expertise to ensure the site becomes and remains the go-to place for fact-based legislative information.

Finally, this weekend brings the 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on the National Mall. Made possible by many generous private sponsors, the festival brings together more than 120 authors of all kinds with something for all ages. It is one of our favorite events, and we hope you can join the expected 200,000 other book fans for this literary extravaganza.

Library of Congress National Book Festival. September 24, 2011. / Abby Brack Lewis

The week encapsulates the many ways the Library is working to not only collect and preserve knowledge and creativity but also to make it

accessible to the nation as well. Through our web presence, exhibitions, publications and public events, we are working every day to fulfill this important piece of our mission on behalf of Congress and the nation.

This week one person tweeted that using the Library’s resources is “like having a piñata stuffed to the brim with awesomeness!!!” I could not think of a more colorful way to sum up the week.

Introducing LCM, a New Library of Congress Magazine

(The following is a guest post from Audrey Fischer, editor of the new Library of Congress Magazine, LCM.)

 

What a difference a year makes.

Last year at this time, we were putting to bed the final issue of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin—not just for the year 2011, but for all eternity. This venerable publication, which was first published on Jan. 23, 1942, as a mimeographed staff newsletter during World War II, evolved into a four-color printed publication produced using digital technology.

It’s been my pleasure to have served as its editor since 2005, following in the footsteps of a host of very talented editors—each maximizing the print, graphics and distribution technology available at the time.

With the advent of e-zines, iPads and other mobile devices, it was time not only to consider new distribution methods, but to rethink the audience, content and visual presentation of the Library’s magazine. With input from existing and prospective readers, we did just that.

So without further ado, it is my great pleasure to introduce LCM—the re-imagined, redesigned and renamed Library of Congress Magazine. The bi-monthly, general interest magazine features education and entertaining content about current and historical events through the prism of the Library’s unparalleled collections and expert staff.

In the premiere issue, we’ve taken the opportunity to re-introduce the Library by re-telling its history in connection to the War of 1812.

In its pages, readers will learn how to use the Library, how the Library acquires its collections, what’s new online and for sale in the shop, what exhibitions can be viewed in person and online and how donations support the Library. This issue, and those that follow, will be beautifully illustrated with historic images drawn from the Library’s collections and contemporary photographs.

The magazine’s print circulation of 12,000 includes Members of Congress and libraries and educational institutions throughout the nation and the world. The publication is also accessible free online.

We hope you like our new magazine, and that it will lead you to explore the millions of books, manuscripts, photos, movies, maps and music in our collection, either in person or online.