Dope File, 1898 - 1951
Scope and contents note
Terry Ramsaye (1885 - 1954), former editor of the Motion Picture Herald and author of A Million and One Nights, an early history of the motion picture industry, was a prolific writer and respected film historian. His papers, comprising 5 boxes (6.75 linear feet), are arranged in six series: a Dope File Series, Individual Series, Subject Series, Manuscripts Series, Photographic Series, and Personal Series.
Items of interest indexed in Terry Ramsaye's papers are a TLS by Wm. Kennedy Laurie Dickson, 1 TLS by George Eastman, 2 TLS by Thomas Edison, and TLS by Frank Dyer, Edison's attorney, and Wm. Meadowcraft, Edison's assistant. Terry Ramsaye's papers are, of course, of great value to those interested in the early history of the motion picture. But they are also fascinating to those who wish to explore how history is written. They represent a painstaking compilation of information which Terry Ramsaye collected to write A Million and One Nights and continued to collect until his death in 1954. His correspondence with Thomas Armat, Billy Bitzer, members of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, and others presents a picture of a man continuously struggling and researching in order to "get the facts straight" and end the myths which were continuously reappearing about early motion picture history and who invented what when. Researchers interested in Terry Ramsaye may also wish to look at Georgetown University's Martin Quigley Collection or copy of A Million and One Nights or Harvard University's collection in the Baker Library which Ramsaye mentions in his correspondence with the Harvard Business Historical Society.
Dates
- 1898 - 1951
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Extent
From the Collection: 5.65 Linear Feet (4 boxes and 1 oversized folder)
Language of Materials
English
Container Summary
The Dope File Series, the largest series in the collection, was Ramsaye's own collection of "dope," or information, on particular individuals or subjects. The series is arranged in alphabetical order with in the collection, but correspondence on a particular subject has been separated from clippings on that subject. Thus, there are generally two folders for each letter of the alphabet, the first containing correspondence from individuals, the second containing clippings mentioned in the "Dope File." The most fascinating facet of this series is that these files provided Ramsaye with much of his own information on the film industry and some of the earliest clippings and letters were either used or reproduced in A Million and One Nights. The series also provides a wealth of information on a vast array of subjects, including block booking, foreign films, film personalities, and early motion picture inventions. It even includes unusual information on the legal aspects of motion pictures and motion picture inventions, such as the signed opinion of Judge Gordon in "Harold Roller vs. the Commonwealth," which first tested the admissibility of "talking motion pictures as evidence" as well as a copy of the court papers in Cinema Patents Company vs. Warner Brother Pictures. This series also contains many of Ramsaye's own articles on particular subjects.
Creator
- From the Collection: Ramsaye, Terry, 1885-1954 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu