An illustrated history of silent movies, capturing the ground-breaking works and icons of the genre - including Chaplin, Garbo, Clara Bow, and Valentino.



Few people realize the extent to which the Hollywood movie industry today was shaped in the silent era. Drawing on the resources of The Library of Congress, one of the greatest repositories for silent film and memorabilia, Peter Kobel explores the fascinating world of silent film, from its birth in the 1890s, with the earliest narrative shorts, through the brilliant full-length features of the 1920s, and puts directors, actors, and their films into a broad historical perspective. SILENT MOVIES also looks at the technology of early film, the use of colour photography, and the restoration work being spearheaded by some of Hollywood's most important directors, such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Lavishly illustrated by The Library of Congress' extensive collection of posters, paper prints, film stills, and memorabilia, most of which have never been in print, SILENT MOVIES will take its place as the defining work on this important and fascinating aspect of American culture.