Motion Picture Collection
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4370
This collection contains motion pictures related to West Virginia and the greater Appalachian region. Mediums include news footage, documentary films, industrials and West Virginia University footage.
Although a single collection, this audiovisual content was acquired from a variety of sources, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, WVU-TV, Appalachian Film, and Monongalia County. Subjects include WVU sporting events, the coal mining industry and Appalachian culture, such as crafts, folk music and parades.
Collection highlights include WVU football games from as early as 1941, a 1918 World War I victory parade addended by future presidential nominee John W. Davis, and the First Annual Appalachian People's Music Fair of 1970.
A list of the digitized films is available in the digital object attached to this collection ("Films from the Motion Picture Collection").
A more detailed contents list for this collection is also available upon request. Additional information includes film base, type of sound, film width, and in some cases notes explaining why a film has multiple reels.
All of this collection is stored offsite. Please make an appointment prior to visiting.
Much of this material is not yet digitized. Researchers may request material be digitized, and may access digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely, by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
105.33 Linear Feet (79 record cartons, 15 or 17 in. each)
English
The collection remains arranged as it was found in the early 2020s during inventory review, and does not seem to indicate any original order. Some films include multiple reels. This may indicate one of the following:
duplicate copies of the same film (either genuine duplicates or similar copies, such as one color film without sound and one black and white film with sound),
one film that was long enough to be broken into parts (e.g., parts 1 and 2), or
a film that has multiple reels for multiple aspects (e.g., an optical reel and a sound reel).
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository