Home

Calendar

Filter

Search

Brinton's Famous Moving Pictures: The Emergence of Early Film in America

May 3, 2018

09:00 AM - 06:00 PM

University of Iowa Main Library, Main Library Gallery

125 West Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52242

Save to My Events

Brinton in a theater next to a movie projector surrounded by the audience.

The Brinton Collection contains films, slides, projectors, papers, and other documents from the life and career of William Franklin Brinton of Washington, IA. Brinton was an itinerant showman, travelling from Texas to Minnesota to project slides, film, and stage other entertainments during the years 1895-1909. He was also the manager of the Graham Opera House in Washington, which is still an active movie theater today and was recently declared the longest continually operating cinema in the world. Brinton was an eccentric and energetic individual, and the collection not only preserves some of the earliest commercially available film, it also contains material related to Brinton’s experimental interests, such as his passion for designing flying machines long before human flight became a reality.

The exhibit will be open to the public April 23rd-August 3rd, 2018.

Gallery Hours

  • Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am-6pm
  • Tuesday: 9am-8pm
  • Saturday and Sunday: 1pm-5pm

See the Gallery site for more details and open hours exceptions.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at