Scope and Contents
The Western Film Collection consists of press kits, pressbooks, posters, photographs, souvenir programs and other materials that were distributed by film producers to movie theater operators to promote their films. The Western films represented in this collection are Western genre films, films set in the trans-Mississippi West, and/or films with Western-type characters. Press kits typically include advertisements prepared for submission to newspapers and magazines; black-and-white photographs of scenes from the films with credit information; printed booklets called pressbooks containing information about the film, actors, and other personnel; and posters for lobby display. Early press kits were called campaign kits. While the majority of press kits included in the collection consist of foldered printed material, there are several examples of electronic press kits on compact disk.
Dates
- 1911 - 2006
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 50 (sound recording): Use of originals is restricted. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Box 60 (computer disks): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies of electronic files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Western Film Collection is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from various sources, 1987-2022.
Arrangement
Organized in forty groupings: September 1987 Acquisition; July 2006 Acquisition; June 2010 Acquisition; November 2010 Acquisition; January 2011 Acquisition; October 2011 Acquisition; January 2012 Acquisition; June 2012 Acquisition; July 2012 Acquisition; September 2012 Acquisition; December 2012 Acquisition; June 2013 Acquisition; July 2013 Acquisition; September 2013 Acquisition; 14 October 2013 Acquisition; 30 October Acquisition; November 2013 Acquisition; 6 February 2014 Acquisition; 14 February 2014 Acquisition; March 2014 Acquisition; 1 July 2015 Acquisition [1 of 2]; 1 July 2015 Acquisition [2 of 2]; November 2015 Acquisition; January 2016 Acquisition; September 2016 Acquisition; October 2016 Acquisition; February 2017 Acquisition; 1 July 2017 Acquisition; 3 July 2017 Acquisition; 23 October 2017 Acquisition [1 of 2]; 23 October 2017 Acquisition [2 of 2]; January 2018 Acquisition; 1 July 2018 Acquisition; 31 July 2018 Acquisition; December 2018 Acquisition; July 2019 Acquisition [1 of 2]; July 2019 Acquisition [2 of 2]; October 2019 Acquisition; November 2019 Acquisitions; and April 2022 Acquisition.
Extent
90.11 Linear Feet ((116 boxes) + 5 broadsides)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The Western Film Collection consists of press kits, pressbooks, posters, photographs, souvenir programs and other materials that were distributed by film producers to movie theater operators to promote their films. The Western films represented in this collection are Western genre films, films set in the trans-Mississippi West, and/or films with Western characters. Press kits typically include advertisements prepared for submission to newspapers and magazines; black-and-white photographs of scenes from the films with credit information; printed booklets called pressbooks containing information about the film, actors, and other personnel; and posters for lobby display. Early press kits were called "campaign kits." While the majority of press kits included in the collection consist of foldered printed material, there are several examples of electronic press kits on compact disc. The Buddy Holly Story pressbook contains a "flexi disc" recording bound in.
Processing Information
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and in some instances minimal organization. Various acquisitions associated with the collection have not been merged and organized as a whole. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below, titled according to month and year of acquisition.
The finding aid for this collection is compiled from individual preliminary lists for each acquisition that were created at or around the time of receipt by the library. The preliminary lists were migrated to comply with current archival descriptive standards and merged into a single file in 2007-2008. As part of the migration, modifications were made to the formatting of individual lists; however, the content of the lists was neither modified nor verified. Further organization, rehousing, and description were carried out in 2013.
The collection is comprised of material formerly classed as UNCAT WA MS 233, UNCAT MSS 882, UNCAT MSS 1244, UNCAT MSS 1293, UNCAT MSS 1294, UNCAT MSS 1295, UNCAT MSS 1296, UNCAT MSS 1297, UNCAT MSS 1299, UNCAT MSS 1300, UNCAT MSS 1301, UNCAT MSS 1303, and UNCAT MSS 1305.
As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
Two film titles separated in the listing by a slash mark (/) indicates that the two films were promoted together.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This finding aid was revised in 2023 to add this processing note to contextualize a racist and sexist descriptor used in a folder title in the 23 October 2017 acquisition [1 of 2]. This folder title contains a transcribed film title from the lobby card. The use of this title is not an endorsement of the language it contains. This descriptive language has been retained to promote searchability and discoverability of the collections. Please contact the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library for details or if you have questions or comments about these revisions. For more information on reparative archival description at Yale, see Yale’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Guide to the Western Film Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- 2007-05-16
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- January 2023: The finding aid was revised to contextualize racist and sexist language. For more information, see the collection level processing note.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.