Human Studies Film Archives

Guide to the Percy B. Eckhart film collection, 1925-1954

Summary

Collection ID:
HSFA.2017.05
Creators:
Eckhart, Percy B. (Percy Bernard), 1877-1969
Dates:
1925-1954
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
23 Film reels
14,300 feet
16mm
Repository:
Percy B. Eckhart was a lawyer, a prolific oil painter, and a supporter of the arts. Most of the film footage in this collection is of travel, but there is also film footage of his family, and of a fiction film.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection contains the films of Percy B. Eckhart. The travel film footage includes trips to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Virginia, Florida, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Western Europe. The home movie film footage was filmed in Lyme, Connecticut; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Charlevoix, Michigan. The miscellaneous film footage is outtakes and tests from a professional or serious amateur fiction film and Eugene Castle's "Hindenberg Explodes!" Castle's film is the only one in this collection that was published.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 3 series: (1) Travel Footage, 1926-1936, 1949-1950; (2) Home Movies, 1925-1932, 1947; (3) Miscellaneous Film Footage, 1954

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Percy Bernard Eckhart was born in 1877 in Lake Forest, Illinois. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and his law degree from Harvard University. He taught public utility law at the University of Chicago and was a founding partner in the law firm of Eckhart, McSwain, Hassell, and Husum. He also served as legal counsel for the Art Institute of Chicago. His support of the arts included serving as a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, a founder of the Ravinia Festival association, and a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestral association. He additionally served as director and officer of the B. A. Eckhart Milling company, a firm started by his late father; as a member of the executive committee of Montgomery Ward & Co; as a director of Chicago Title & Trust company, and the Champlain Oil & Refining company; and as president of the DeSoto Securities company, DeSoto Realty Trust, and the 208 La Salle Street corporation. In 1951, he received Northwestern University's centennial award. In his spare time, he was also a prolific oil painter (primarily of landscapes, some of which were exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1920s). Eckhart died in 1969 in Lake Placid, New York.
Sources Consulted
"Percy Eckhart Dies at Age 93; A Civic Leader."
Chicago Tribune
, July 16, 1969.
Chronology
1877
Born in Lake Forest, Illinois
1899
Graduated from the University of Chicago
1902
Received J.D. from Harvard University
1903-1915
Taught public utility law at the University of Chicago
1951
Received Northwestern University's centennial award
1969
Died in Lake Placid, New York

Administration

Author
Annie Schweikert
Processing Information
Film arrived in small rolls and was assembled into larger film rolls between 800 feet and 1000 feet when possible. Film rolls that were in particularly poor physical condition were kept separate for handling purposes. All film footage is estimated, as the rolls could not be run through a film footage calculator due to shrinkage.
Film was assembled in original numbered order whenever possible. Numbered films proceed largely chronologically by subject. Information written on each film reel and/or can appears in bulleted lists on the following pages. Reels tended to come in their own cans, with the exception of a few larger cans that housed multiple film rolls. Square brackets indicate titles supplied by archives staff.
Most film is black-and-white. Note that one roll (2017.5.3-3 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: Virginia Gardens, 1932]) is Kodacolor, a film format that contains color information in a lenticular format. This film footage appears black and white until projected through the required filters. There is also tinted film in 2017.5.7 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: World Cruise, 1936], and Kodachrome in 2017.5.6 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: Europe, 1949-1950].
Processed by Annie Schweikert, February 2017
Encoded by Katherine Christensen, August 2020
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Wendy Williams in 2017.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
The Percy B. Eckhart films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Access to the Percy B. Eckhart film collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
Contact repository for terms of use.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Physical condition of the film ranges from fine to severely deteriorated; all film is acetate and vinegar syndrome has affected the reels to varying degrees.
In 2015, the donor sent the films to Click Scan Share in Lafayette, California, for transfer to DVDs. Copies of the DVDs are available for reference. Image is often jittery and exhibits "breathing" and some was transferred on wrong orientation (writing is projected backwards). DVD includes no titles or breaks between separate rolls, though DVD chapter breaks do correspond correctly to the order of rolls provided by the lab (these divisions can be accessed with the "skip" function).

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Architecture Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harbors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ships Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tourism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Recreation Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beaches Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Monuments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ruins Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seminole Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Caribbean Area Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africa Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Europe Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
South America Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mediterranean Region Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Human Studies Film Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland 20746
hsfa@si.edu