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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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29c Clara Bow single

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

D. W. Griffith

PÅ OLOVLIGA VÄGAR

D.W. Griffith

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Harold J. Kennedy, Francis Lederer and Gloria Swanson -- "Three Curtains"

John Gilbert

John Gilbert

John Gilbert in "Gentleman's Fate"

John Gilbert in "Redemption"

29c John Gilbert single

29c Harold Lloyd single

Harold Lloyd

Harold Lloyd

Movie Crazy

29c Theda Bara single

I've Lost You

William S. Hart Poster

29c Lon Chaney single

32c The Phantom of the Opera single


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