J.IIC-CG VOLUME 5 (1980)
The Dawson City Film Find: A Major Cooperative Film Conservation Project
Several hundred cellulose nitrate films, which had been buried in permafrost conditions for half a century, were uncovered in Dawson City in the summer of 1978. Because of this unusual provenance, the films were remarkably well preserved. Most of the subjects of the hundreds of reels are believed to be unique, and are therefore particularly significant to historians of the silent film era. The recovery of these highly flammable films was complicated by time restrictions, as the films had been discovered during the initial excavations of a construction project. This paper presents some of the problems that were faced during the emergency salvage project, which eventually resulted in the preservation of a valuable collection of cinema heritage.
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