Artifactual is a podcast about archival material -- who made it, who saved it, and why. It was inspired by the documentary work we do at 1895 Films, where we often come across amazing pieces of archival material (tapes, maps, letters, etc.). But we don't always have the space to tell the stories behind this archival material in the documentaries themselves. And so, Artifactual was born...
Malcolm X's dentist, Abdul Salaam, was an avid 8mm film enthusiast. His collection of footage is an invaluable resource for historians and documentarians. It captures the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, and the Malcolm X through the lens of an ordinary person with an extraordinary passion.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
How have 41 prop vehicles from the James Bond movie franchise ended up in a hangar in rural Illinois? Sounds like a question for Factual. Arti Factual. (I'm so sorry.)You can donate to the Ian Fleming Foundation here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
In the 1960s, astronaut fever turned a tiny Florida beach town into a Cold War-era tourist trap. A lounge act called the We Three Trio capitalized on this trend, earning their fifteen minutes of fame with a song about the Mercury Seven astronauts.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
When writer Anne de Courcy placed a tape recorder in front of Antony Armstrong-Jones—formally known as Lord Snowdon—she had no idea what kind of material she'd get. But she was determined to write the first proper biography of the eccentric photographer who married Princess Margaret in 1960. By the time she was done with her book Snowdon: the Biography, she had more than 90 taped interviews with friends and family in the circle of the House of Windsor—which she put in a plastic bag and shoved into a closet for over a decade.You can learn more about Anne de Courcy and her work here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
How did something as boring as maps for insurance companies become one of the highest-traffic items on the Library of Congress's website? Because these insurance agents were accidentally telling the stories of the cities they were mapping -- cities that were growing, changing, and sometimes withering away...You can look for Sanborn maps of your town or city in digital collection of the Library of Congress here.You can find more information about the history of the Sanborn collection at Cal State Northridge here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
When an amateur singer crosses paths with Thomas Edison in 1899, the resulting recordings are a glimpse into the world of fin de siècle America.Many thanks to the University of California, Santa Barbara Library, which has made these amazing recordings available through a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 2.5 License.You can explore UCSB's collection of wax cylinder recordings and read about the history of recordings here. And you can donate to the upkeep of these recordings here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
When a Hawaiian radio DJ becomes a Navy censor, he ends up having to cut off a news broadcast from his own station during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a day of history that changed America forever.You can hear the full recording of the Pearl Harbor broadcast here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
In 1933, almost 70 years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Hazelton sat down in front of a microphone and told the story of watching it happen as a program boy at Ford's Theatre. That record disappeared from sight until the mid-2000s, when a record collector found the last copy in existence.You can hear the full recording of the Joseph Hazelton story here.For more information on this episode and more Artifactual content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
Artifactual from 1895 Films will be going live with our first episode on Wednesday, September 15! Tell friends, family, acquaintances, strangers...For more Artifactual content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.Artifactual is a content partner of Peter Hamilton's Documentary Business newsletter and Sunny Side of the Doc.
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