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  • Let's Go to the Movies
  • Early Movies
  • Silent Era
  • Golden Age

The Movies

Silent Era

The National Museum of American History is known for cinematic treasures such as Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939), but it also holds a remarkable collection of silent film artifacts. Made from the 1890s to the late 1920s, silent films lacked synchronized sound; live music and shots of printed text conveyed emotion and dialogue. These selected artifacts offer a glimpse into the early days of cinema as a global art and entertainment form.


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Charlie Chaplin

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in "Mr. Robinson Crusoe"

Charlie Chaplin

Sessue Hayakawa

Rudolph Valentino

44c Black Heritage: Oscar Micheaux single

Charlie Chaplin

Dolores del Rio

Mary Pickford

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Mary Pickford

Stakkels Johanne

Mary Pickford

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton in "Dough Boys"

Buster Keaton

Rudolph Valentino

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

Clara Bow

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson


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