Series One
Since the commencement of the cinema a great many periodicals have seen the light of day and then, after a brief life, ceased publication. Many of these are of considerable interest to the student of film, but may be very rare and hard to find.
They include some important rare early periodicals – Optical Magic Lantern Journal, Edison Kinetogram, Close Up, etc.
16 reels
Reference: LMS
Contents
| Reel | Publication | Description |
| 1 – 2 | Optical, Magic Lantern Journal 1889 – 1903, continued as Optical Lantern & Cinematograph Journal (sometimes called “…Kinematograph Journal”, incorporating Lantern Weekly). 1904 – 1907 | These were the earliest trade journals and date, as their names imply, from the days when the magic lantern was being superseded by the moving images of cinematography |
| 3 | Cinematography & Bioscope Magazine 1906 – 1907 Projection, Lantern & Cinematograph 1906 – 1907 | Examples of early trade journals and catalogues |
| Edison Kinetogram 1910 – 1913 | Further examples of early trade journals and catalogues. Contained detailed descriptions of the films then available | |
| Kinetradogram 1913 | Further examples of early trade journals and catalogues. Contained detailed descriptions of the films then available | |
| 4 – 8 | Close Up 1927 – 1933 | A famous International magazine of the period which pioneered serious cinema criticism in English. Published in Switzerland it was edited by Kenneth Macpherson with his wife “Bryher” (Winifred Ellerman) as assistant. Contributors included Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Yves Allegret and Gertrude Stein |
| 9 | Cinema Quarterly 1932 – 1935 | Published In Scotland with Forsyth Hardy as its Review Editor and Basil Wright as its London Correspondent. The bias was towards documentaries. Contributors included John Grierson, Paul Rotha, Joris Ivens etc. |
| World Film News 1936 – 1938 | The successor to Cinema Quarterly. Controlled by John Grierson, Alberto Cavalcanti and Basil Wright. It was sub-titled “…And Television Progress”, and was possibly the first film journal to cover television | |
| 10 | World Film News 1936 – 1938 | The successor to Cinema Quarterly. Controlled by John Grierson, Alberto Cavalcanti and Basil Wright. It was sub-titled “…And Television Progress”, and was possibly the first film journal to cover television |
| Film 1933, continued as Film Art 1933 – 1937 | Sub-titled “International review of advance-guard cinema”, it included contributors from all over the world | |
| 11 | Film Art 1933 – 1937 | Sub-titled “International review of advance-guard cinema”, it included contributors from all over the world |
| 12 | Documentary Newsletter 1940 – 1947, continued as Documentary Film News 1948 – 1949 | Essential to the study of the British documentary school. Documentary Newsletter was established to continue the policy and purpose of World Film News (see above) and carried its ideas through and beyond World War II |
| 13 | Documentary Newsletter 1940 – 1947, continued as Documentary Film News 1948 – 1949 | Essential to the study of the British documentary school. Documentary Newsletter was established to continue the policy and purpose of World Film News (see above) and carried its ideas through and beyond World War II |
| Film Quarterly 1946 – 1947 (also titled Film Miscellany & Film Survey) | An Illustrated review edited by Peter Noble and largely devoted to news and articles, about contemporary British productions | |
| Film Monthly Review 1947 – 1950 | An illustrated journal largely on the British cinema of the period. Short articles by and about personalities and technicians in British studios | |
| 14 | International Film Review 1949 – 1951 | English-language version of a publication of the International Catholic Cinema Office (OCIC). Writers from all over the world express the Catholic view of the cinema |
| 15 | Definition 1960 | Edited by former students of the London School of Film Technique. It set out to encourage new standards of criticism and was highly critical of established journals |
| Cinema Studies 1960 – 1967 | Journal of The Society for Film History Research and largely devoted to research papers about the early years of the cinema | |
| Motion 1961 – 1963 | Published under the auspices of the University Film Makers Association it set out to challenge contemporary criticism and define critical theory | |
| 16 | Cinim 1966 – 1969 | Run in conjunction with the London Film-Makers Co-operative and intended as a platform for “advanced criticism and imaginative writing on contemporary cinema”. Emphasis is on independent film-making |
| Cinema 1968 – 1971 | Published in Cambridge and intended as a vehicle for new developments in film criticism. It published the early work of some structuralist and semiological critics | |
| Kinema 1968 – 1971 | Published In Nottingham. Emphasis is on French and American cinema with factual coverage and filmographies | |
| Cinemantics 1970 | Independent magazine devoted to “transforming the field of activity of film-makers”. Its emphasis is on new and experimental work and on film theory | |
| Cinema Rising 1972 | Journal in newspaper format largely devoted to the experimental and “under-ground” cinema, but also covering current output |
Series Two
Seventeen further publications, ranging in date from 1909 to 1935, taken this time from the vast holdings of the British Library.
The fact that these periodicals were produced on a low budget, designed for a small readership and often lasted only for a short-run, in no way diminishes their interest and importance for historians of the cinema. The wide range of trade magazines, for renters, house managers and projectionists are particularly important. Publications like The Biogram (1919 – 1923), Films: The Cinema Trade Journal (1915 – 1923), Pathe Cine Journal (1913 – 1914) and The Trans-Atlantic Review (1913 – 1917) are the raw material from which the business side of the cinema can be reconstructed.
Many of these magazines also contain fascinating review material. Aside from the overt bias of fan material and in-house trade magazines, the magazines offer an insight into the development of critical styles and attitudes. As the great popular art form of the 20th century, the cinema and the reactions it engendered are a crucial element in the history of taste. The Film Censor (1912 – 1916), Film Flashes (1915 – 1916), Pathe Weekly Bulletin (1914 – 1915) and The Scottish Cinema (1919 – 1920), offer news and views from numerous angles, from frivolous star features to serious attempts to improve the status of the cinema. The development of film studies can only be aided by the making accessible of a mass of rare research material which touches every aspect of the history of the cinema.
35 reels
Reference: LMR
Contents
| Reel | Publication | Description |
| 1 | The Biogram | A weekly journal for renters. Primarily a journal to introduce renters’ products to exhibitors. Very informal until Evans & Co. took over in September 1921, and then more on CEA matters and in a less personal tone 1919. Volume 1, numbers 1 – 43 |
| 2 | The Biogram | 1920. Volume 1, number 44 – volume 2, number 95 |
| 3 | The Biogram | 1921. Volume 2, number 96 – volume 3, number 148 |
| 4 | The Biogram | 1922 – January 6 1923. Volume 3, number 149 – volume 4, number 200 |
| 5 | The Cinema World Illustrated. London | Seems to be aimed at a “films and filming” type readership, synopses, notes on scenarios, etc. Volume 1, number 1 – volume 2, number 22. May 1927 – February 1929 (volume 1 is a registration/specimen issue) |
| The Cine Goer | Fairly popular, but not just fan magazine. Plenty of illustrations, synopses, etc., with a few serious(but superficial) articles Volume 1, numbers 1 – 8. 26 February – 15 April 1916 | |
| 6 | Evening News | Numbers 1 – 20. 14 February – 18 July 1921 |
| Evening News (continued as Cinema Evening News). Portsmouth | Numbers 1 – 30. 24 July 1921 – 27 February 1922 | |
| 7 | The Exhibitors’ Guide & Kinema Trade Review. Manchester | A trade paper, not for sale but for free distribution. Mostly confined to news of people, exchanges and films in the North-West Numbers 1 – 43. 24 December 1914 – 14 October 1915 |
| 8 | The Exhibitor’s Pocket Record. Cardiff | For Welsh and West country showmen Numbers 1 – 12. 27 April – 13 July 1914 |
| 9 | The Express Overseas Mail. London | A monthly report of the cinematograph export trade. Very much a house organ, but occasional general trade articles, regular features on films and companies, and regular quotations from other trade papers Volume 1, number 1 – volume 3, numbers 9 & 10. January 1914 – September/October 1916 |
| 10 | The Film Censor. London | Claimed that its main object was to bring about an improvement in the status of the cinema. “We intend to work in sympathy with those engaged in the conduct of the film censorship”. Usual trade news, reviews, synopses, etc. Brief notes about new companies, lists of new patents Volume 1, number 1 – volume 2, number 44. 26 June 1912 – 23 April 1913 |
| 11 | The Film Censor (continued as The Film Censor & Exhibitor’s Review | Volume 2, number 45 – volume 6, number 192. 30 April 1913 – 25 February 1916 |
| 12 | Film Flashes. London | All the news of the film. Claims to be read by picture-goers and exhibitors, but the majority of material is obviously for the former: synopses, fashion-notes, gossip items, and short publicity interviews. But the reviews, though not many, are often critical. General line tends to be anti-British Board of Film Control, which is described in one issue as “manufacturer’s puppets” Volume 1, numbers 1 – 31. 13 November 1915 – 10 June 1916 |
| 13 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal. Birmingham | Published in Birmingham, mainly for exhibitors in the Midlands, with some space for distributors, but production virtually ignored. Reviews not at all critical, and few of them to start with. Quite useful on local CEA and KRS meetings August – December 1915 |
| 14 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | 1916 |
| 15 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | 1917 |
| 16 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | January – June 1918 |
| 17 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | July – December 1918 |
| 18 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | 1919 |
| 19 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | 1920 |
| 20 | Films: The Cinema Trade Journal | 1921 and March 1922 – March 1923 |
| 21 | Motion Picture Studio (incorporated With Kine . Weekly). London | Seems to be primarily concerned with actors and camera men. Very strongly against abuses by fly-by-night producers and agents, and even more against film-acting schools Volume 1, number 1 – volume 3, number 142. 11 June 1921 – 30 December 1922 |
| 22 | Motion Picture Studio (incorporated With Kine . Weekly) | 6 January 1923 – 9 February 1924 |
| The Moving Picture Offered List & Cinema Trade Buyer & Seller. London | Trade publication, with minimal editorial comment, particularly in the earlier issues, and that usually laudatory. When the title changed a somewhat harder note was struck Volume 1, numbers 1 – 2 (pilot issues). 11 July – 18 July 1913. Volume 1, number 1 – volume 10, number 207. 26 July 1913 -March 1918 | |
| The Moving Picture Offered List & Cinema Trade Buyer & Seller (continued as The British Kinema Chronicle) | Volume 11, numbers 208 – 209. April – May 1918 | |
| 23 | Pathe Weekly Bulletin | Devoted completely to Pathe’s (as distributors) own films, giving synopsis, length, etc. Number 2 was apparently not published New series numbers 1 – 72. 20 August 1914 -16 December 1915 |
| 24 | Pathe Cine Journal (continued as Pathe Cinema Journal from volume 1, number 6). London | First editorial says this “replaces the Weekly Bulletin” which was possibly more of a house organ. This has a fairly broad coverage: synopses, reports from the provinces, technical notes and general articles. F.A. Talbot contributed fairly regularly Volume 1, numbers 1 – 5. 4 October – 1 November 1913. Volume 2, number 44. 8 November 1913 – 30 July 1914 4 October – 24 December 1913 |
| 25 | Pathe Cine Journal | 3 January – 28 March 1914 |
| 26 | Pathe Cine Journal | 4 April – 30 July 1914 |
| 27 | Rinking World & Picture Theatre News (continued as Rinking World when it drops all cinema content) | The picture theatre part of it is virtually a separate section, largely, devoted to the promotion of cinemas and to cinema company financing Volume 1, number 1 – volume 2, number 42. 4 December 1909 – 17 September 1910 |
| 28 | The Scottish Cinema. Glasgow | Editorial in number 1: “It is not for us to question the taste of any section of the community… We would, therefore, endeavour to give a general description of the films which come under our notice, rather than classify them as good, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, etc.” Volume 1, number 1 – volume 2, number 46. 22 September 1919 -2 August 1920 22 September 1919 – 29 March 1920 |
| 29 | The Scottish Cinema | 5 April – 2 August 1920 |
| 30 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |
| 31 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |
| 32 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |
| 33 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |
| 34 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |
| 35 | Trans-Atlantic Review. London | Volume 1, number 1 – volume 7, number 18; new series, numbers 1 – 15. 29 November 1913 – 10 November 1917 |