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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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32c Charlie Chaplin single

29c Rudolph Valentino single

44c Black Heritage: Oscar Micheaux single

Compact

29c Buster Keaton single

20c Douglas Fairbanks single

29c Clara Bow single

29c John Gilbert single

29c Harold Lloyd single

29c Theda Bara single

William S. Hart Poster

29c Lon Chaney single

32c The Phantom of the Opera single

44c Cowboys of the Silver Screen: William S. Hart single

The General/Buster Keaton 1926 [Pacific Film Archive Poster]

Velocipede used by Buster Keaton in the film Our Hospitality

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