Jhumpa Lahiri, on books:

 That's what books are for ... to travel without moving an inch.

- Jhumpa Lahiri.

Recommended reading - Silent Movies The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture

 

Silent Movies
The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture

by Peter Kobel.
Preface by Martin Scorsese.
Foreword by Kevin Brownlow.
 
Published by Little, Brown and Company.
Published 2007.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0316117919
ISBN-13: 978-0316117913
 
Description:
 

Drawing on the extraordinary collection of The Library of Congress, one of the greatest repositories for silent film and memorabilia, Peter Kobel has created the definitive visual history of silent film. From its birth in the 1890s, with the earliest narrative shorts, through the brilliant full-length features of the 1920s, Silent Movies captures the greatest directors and actors and their immortal films.

 

Silent Movies also looks at the technology of early film, the use of color photography, and the restoration work being spearheaded by some of Hollywood's most important directors, such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

 

Richly illustrated from the Library of Congress's extensive collection of posters, paper prints, film stills, and memorabilia – most of which have never been in print – Silent Movies is an important work of history that will also be a sought-after gift book for all lovers of film.

 

"If you ever wondered why film buffs get weak in the knees about the movies made before talkies, this book can help you understand. . . . it is beautifully designed with a dazzling array of movie stills, posters and promo material drawn from the Library of Congress' memorabilia collection." – San Francisco Chronicle.
 
"The definitive visual history of silent film." – New York Daily News.
 
"A handsomely designed and illustrated pictorial history of the voiceless cinema." – Los Angeles Times.
 
"A ravishing, oversize, million-pound study of the silent movie era, not just its films, but its promotion, its culture and the way these movies changed how we think about the world." – Washington Post Express.
 
"Kobel has lovingly detailed this world-from the zany publicity campaigns to the lavish scripts to the decadent star lifestyles. SILENT MOVIES is an essential addition to any film or design lover's library." – Encore magazine.
 
"Spectacular." – The New York Times.
 
"This isn't a coffee table book, though any coffee table would be lucky to be graced by it. The excellent text manages the trick of being exhaustive without being exhausting, while the photos – and stills, and posters, and lobby cards – are enchanting." – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal Online.

Born on this day – Oscar Micheaux:

Oscar Micheaux

Writer

Director

Producer

January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951

Credits:

The Betrayal (1948); The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940); Lying Lips (1939); Birthright (1938); God's Step Children (1938); Swing! (1938); Underworld (1937); Murder in Harlem (1935); Temptation (1935); Harlem After Midnight (1934); Phantom of Kenwood (1933); Black Magic (1932); The Girl from Chicago (1932); Ten Minutes to Live (1932); Veiled Aristocrats (1932); The Darktown Revue (1931); The Exile (1931); Easy Street (1930); A Daughter of the Congo (1930); Wages of Sin (1929); When Men Betray (1928); Thirty Years Later (1928); The House Behind the Cedars (1927); The Millionaire (1927); The Broken Violin (1927); The Spider's Web (1927); The Conjure Woman (1926); The Devil's Disciple (1926); Marcus Garland (1925); Body and Soul (1925); A Son of Satan (1924); Birthright (1924); The Virgin of Seminole (1923); Deceit (1923); Uncle Jasper's Will (1922); The Dungeon (1922); The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921); The Hypocrite (1921); The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920); The Brute (1920); Within Our Gates (1920); The Homesteader (1919).

Born on this day – Florence Lawrence:

 

Florence Lawrence

Actress

January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938

Credits:

Night Must Fall (1937); Hollywood Boulevard (1936); One Rainy Afternoon (1936); Yellow Dust (1936); The Crusades (1935); Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935); The Old Fashioned Way (1934); The Silk Express (1933); Secrets (1933); Sinners in the Sun (1932); So Big! (1932); The Hard Hombre (1931); Pleasure (1931); Homicide Squad (1931); Sweeping Against the Winds (1930); The Greater Glory (1926); The Johnstown Flood (1926); Gambling Wives (1924); Lucretia Lombard (1923); The Satin Girl (1923); The Unfoldment (1922); The Love Craze (1918); Face on the Screen (1917); Elusive Isabel (1916); A Singular Sinner (1914); The Woman Who Won (1914); A Mysterious Mystery (1914); Counterfeiters (1914); The Honor of the Humble (1914); The Mad Man's Ward (1914); Her Ragged Knight (1914); A Singular Cynic (1914); The Doctor's Testimony (1914); A Disenchantment (1914); The Bribe (1914); The Pawns of Destiny (1914); The Little Mail Carrier (1914); Diplomatic Flo (1914); The Honeymooners (1914); The Stepmother (1914); The Law's Decree (1914); The False Bride (1914); The Romance of a Photograph (1914); The Coryphee (1914); A Girl and Her Money (1913); The Influence of Sympathy (1913); Unto the Third Generation (1913); His Wife's Child (1913); The Spender (1913); The Closed Door (1913); Was Mabel Cured? (1912); The Lady Leone (1912); Sisters (1912); The Redemption of Riverton (1912); The Angel of the Studio (1912); The Cross-Roads (1912); Betty's Nightmare (1912); Tangled Relations (1912); The Advent of Jane (1912); Flo's Discipline (1912); All for Love (1912); After All (1912); The Winning Punch (1912); Her Cousin Fred (1912); The Chance Shot (1912); The Mill Buyers (1912); Taking a Chance (1912); Not Like Other Girls (1912); The Players (1912); In Swift Waters (1912); A Village Romance (1912); The American Girl (1911); Art Versus Music (1911); A Girlish Impulse (1911); A Head for Business (1911); A Blind Deception (1911); His Chorus Girl Wife (1911); Aunt Jane's Legacy (1911); One on Reno (1911); A Rural Conqueror (1911); The Maniac (1911); The Slavey's Affinity (1911); The Matchmaker (1911); The Life Saver (1911); The Story of Rosie's Rose (1911); Romance of Pond Cove (1911); The Secret (1911); A Rebellious Blossom (1911); Through Jealous Eyes (1911); Her Two Sons (1911); The Gypsy (1911); During Cherry Time (1911); The Snare of Society (1911); Always a Way (1911); The Little Rebel (1911); Higgenses Versus Judsons (1911); Duke De Ribbon Counter (1911); The Professor's Ward (1911); A Game of Deception (1911); The State Line (1911); A Good Turn (1911); Her Humble Ministry (1911); That Awful Brother (1911); A Fascinating Bachelor (1911); The Sheriff and the Man (1911); The Hoyden (1911); The Two Fathers (1911); Opportunity and the Man (1911); The Wife's Awakening (1911); Her Child's Honor (1911); Her Artistic Temperament (1911); The Actress and the Singer (1911); His Friend, the Burglar (1911); Vanity and Its Cure (1911); Nan's Diplomacy (1911); The Test (1911); A Show Girl's Stratagem (1911); Age Versus Youth (1911); His Bogus Uncle (1911); The Count of Montebello (1910); All the World's a Stage (1910); Pressed Roses (1910); Debt (1910); The Right Girl (1910); The Widow (1910); The Taming of Jane (1910); The Senator's Double (1910); Among the Roses (1910); Once Upon a Time (1910); The Irony of Fate (1910); Bear Ye One Another's Burdens (1910); Old Heads and Young Hearts (1910); The Call of the Circus (1910); A Game for Two (1910); A Self-Made Hero (1910); A Discontented Woman (1910); The Nichols on Vacation (1910); A Reno Romance (1910); The Eternal Triangle (1910); The Doctor's Perfidy (1910); Two Men (1910); The New Shawl (1910); The Maelstrom (1910); The Rosary (1910); His Second Wife (1910); The Miser's Daughter (1910); Transfusion (1910); The Stage Note (1910); His Sick Friend (1910); The Time-Lock Safe (1910); The Broken Oath (1910); Mother Love (1910); The New Minister (1910); The Governor's Pardon (1910); Jane and the Stranger (1910); The Blind Man's Tact (1910); Justice in the Far North (1910); The Coquette's Suitors (1910); A Rose of the Philippines (1910); Never Again (1910); The Tide of Fortune (1910); The Right of Love (1910); The Winning Punch (1910); The Awakening of Bess (1909); Florence Lawrence in Lest We Forget (1909); Her Generous Way (1909); The Forest Ranger's Daughter (1909); Nursing a Viper (1909); Love's Stratagem (1909); Lines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909); The Hessian Renegades (1909); Mrs. Jones' Lover; or, 'I Want My Hat' (1909); Mr. Jones' Burglar (1909); The Mended Lute (1909); The Slave (1909); Sweet and Twenty (1909); Jealousy and the Man (1909); Tender Hearts (1909); The Cardinal's Conspiracy (1909); The Country Doctor (1909); The Necklace (1909); The Way of Man (1909); The Peachbasket Hat (1909); Her First Biscuits (1909); The Lonely Villa (1909); What Drink Did (1909); Eradicating Aunty (1909); Two Memories (1909); Eloping with Auntie (1909); The Judgment of Solomon (1909); Resurrection (1909); The Jilt (1909); A Baby's Shoe (1909); Jones and the Lady Book Agent (1909); The French Duel (1909); One Busy Hour (1909); The Note in the Shoe (1909); The Eavesdropper (1909); Tis an Ill Wind That Blows No Good (1909); Lucky Jim (1909); The Drive for a Life (1909); A Troublesome Satchel (1909); Lady Helen's Escapade (1909); Confidence (1909); The Winning Coat (1909); A Sound Sleeper (1909); Schneider's Anti-Noise Crusade (1909); Trying to Get Arrested (1909); The Road to the Heart (1909); A Drunkard's Reformation (1909); The Medicine Bottle (1909); Jones and His New Neighbors (1909); The Deception (1909); And a Little Child Shall Lead Them (1909); The Lure of the Gown (1909); I Did It (1909); The Salvation Army Lass (1909); The Wooden Leg (1909); The Roue's Heart (1909); A Fool's Revenge (1909); The Prussian Spy (1909); His Wife's Mother (1909); Saul and David (1909); At the Altar (1909); At the Crossroads of Life (1908); The Golden Louis (1909); The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals (1909); His Ward's Love (1909); The Curtain Pole (1909); Tragic Love (1909); A Wreath in Time (1909); The Brahma Diamond (1909); The Girls and Daddy (1909); The Cord of Life (1909); The Adventures of Dollie (1908); Mr. Jones Has a Card Party (1909); The Fascinating Mrs. Francis (1909); Those Boys! (1909); The Criminal Hypnotist (1909); The Sacrifice (1909); Love Finds a Way (1909); The Honor of Thieves (1909); Mrs. Jones Entertains (1909); One Touch of Nature (1909); The Reg Girl (1908); The Helping Hand (1908); Mr. Jones at the Ball (1908); The Christmas Burglars (1908); The Dancer and the King: A Romantic Story of Spain (1908); An Awful Moment (1908); The Test of Friendship (1908); The Reckoning (1908); The Feud and the Turkey (1908); The Valet's Wife (1908); Money Mad (1908); Julius Caesar (1908); The Clubman and the Tramp (1908); A Woman's Way (1908); The Ingrate (1908); The Song of the Shirt (1908); The Taming of the Shrew (1908); The Pirate's Gold (1908); Antony and Cleopatra (1908); After Many Years (1908); Concealing a Burglar (1908); Romance of a Jewess (1908); The Planter's Wife (1908); The Vaquero's Vow (1908); Ingomar, the Barbarian (1908); Father Gets in the Game (1908); The Zulu's Heart (1908); The Devil (1908); The Stolen Jewels (1908); Richard III (1908); A Smoked Husband (1908); Where the Breakers Roar (1908); The Heart of O Yama (1908); The Red Girl (1908); Behind the Scenes (1908); The Girl and the Outlaw (1908); Betrayed by a Handprint (1908); Salome (1908); The Bandit's Waterloo (1908); Love Laughs at Locksmiths; an 18th Century Romance (1908); The Viking's Daughter: The Story of the Ancient Norsemen (1908); Lady Jane's Flight (1908); Romeo and Juliet (1908); Macbeth (1908); Cupid's Realm; or, A Game of Hearts (1908); The Despatch Bearer; or, Through the Enemy's Lines (1907); The Mill Girl (1907); The Shaughraun (1907); Bargain Fiend; or, Shopping à la Mode (1907); Athletic American Girls (1907); The Boy, the Bust and the Bath (1907); Daniel Boone (1907); The Automobile Thieves (1906).

Born on this day – Walter Futter:

Walter Futter

Director

Producer

January 2, 1900 – March 3, 1958

Credits:

Amazing Monsieur Fabre (1951); White Sails (1941); The Westland Case (1937); Dark Sands (1937); Cavalcade of the West (1936); The Riding Avenger (1936); Feud of the West (1936); Lucky Terror (1936); Call Me Co-Ed (1935); Swifty (1935); Hong Kong Nights (1935); Frontier Justice (1935); Laughing with Medbury at Strange Companionships (1935); Laughing with Medbury in the Old Days (1935); Laughing with Medbury in Hollywood (1935); Among the Latins (1934); Among the Cocoons (1934); Laughing with Medbury Around Malaysia (1934); Laughing with Medbury in the Arctic (1934); Laughing with Medbury in Ethiopia (1934); Love Past Thirty (1934); Laughing with Medbury on Voodoo Island (1933); Laughing with Medbury in Mandalay (1933); India Speaks (1933); Among the Great Open Faces (1932); Laughing with Medbury in Death Valley (1932); Laughing with Medbury in Abyssinia (1932); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 227) (1931); Walter Futter's Curosities (No. 228) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 226) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 225) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 224) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 223) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 222) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 221) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 220) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 219) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 216) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 217) (1931); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 213) (1930); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 215) (1930); Walter Futter's Curiosities (No 214) (1930); Walter Futter's Curiosities (1930); Africa Speaks! (1930); Just for Art (1928); All Bear (1928); Penny Postals (1928); Mother Bird (1928); Rubbernecking (1928); New York's Sweetheart (1928); Odds and Ends (1928); Lovingly Yours (1927); For Men Only (1927); Back Home (1927); Holly Nuts (1927); Traveling at Home (1927); Pick a Pet (1927); Mystic India (1927); Growing Money (1927); Odd Jobs (1927); Fiddlesticks (1927); Highlights (1927); Nic-Nax (1926); Then and Nows (1926); Whatnots (1926); Rare Bits (1926); All Star Freaks (1926).

 

Born on this day – Lew Landers:

Lew Landers

Director

Actor

January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962

Credits:

Terrified (1962); Bat Masterson (1959–1961); Sugarfoot (1960–1961); The Case of the Dangerous Robin (1961); Maverick (1959–1960); Bronco (1960); The Alaskans (1960); Colt .45 (1960); Cheyenne (1960); Tombstone Territory (1959–1960); Highway Patrol (1955–1959); Mackenzie's Raiders (1958–1959); The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1956–1959); Rescue 8 (1959); Hot Rod Gang (1958); Harbor Command (1957–1958); Casey Jones (1957–1958); Adventures of Superman (1958); Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955–1957); Dr. Christian (1957); Circus Boy (1957); Whirlybirds (1957); I Led 3 Lives (1953–1956); Savage Fury (1956); The Cruel Tower (1956); Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers (1956); Passport to Danger (1956); Scattergood Baines (1955); Science Fiction Theatre (1955); Topper (1954–1955); Meet Corliss Archer (1954); Mr. & Mrs. North (1952–1954); Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954); The Cisco Kid (1953–1954); Your Favorite Story (1953–1954); Terry and the Pirates (1952–1953); Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953); Your Jeweler's Showcase (1953); Run for the Hills (1953); The Files of Jeffrey Jones (1952–1953); Man in the Dark (1953); The Ford Television Theatre (1953); Tangier Incident (1953); The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951–1953); Torpedo Alley (1952); Arctic Flight (1952); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); California Conquest (1952); Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952); Aladdin and His Lamp (1952); The Bogus Green (1951); The Magic Carpet (1951); Jungle Manhunt (1951); Hurricane Island (1951); The Big Gusher (1951); When the Redskins Rode (1951); A Yank in Korea (1951); Blue Blood (1951); Revenue Agent (1950); Last of the Buccaneers (1950); Chain Gang (1950); State Penitentiary (1950); Beauty on Parade (1950); Dynamite Pass (1950); Tyrant of the Sea (1950); Girls' School (1950); Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950); Barbary Pirate (1949); Air Hostess (1949); Stagecoach Kid (1949); I Found a Dog (1949); Law of the Barbary Coast (1949); Public Prosecutor (1947–1948); Adventures of Gallant Bess (1948); Inner Sanctum (1948); My Dog Rusty (1948); Doctor Jim (1947); Devil Ship (1947); My Pal (1947); The Son of Rusty (1947); Under the Tonto Rim (1947); Thunder Mountain (1947); Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947); Danger Street (1947); Death Valley (1946); Harry Cording, William Gargan, Phillip Reed, and Jean Rogers in Hot Cargo (1946); The Truth About Murder (1946); The Mask of Diijon (1946); Tokyo Rose (1946); A Close Call for Boston Blackie (1946); Follow That Woman (1945); The Enchanted Forest (1945); The Windjammer (1945); Shadow of Terror (1945); Arson Squad (1945); Secrets of a Sorority Girl (1945); Trouble Chasers (1945); The Power of the Whistler (1945); Crime, Inc. (1945); I'm from Arkansas (1944); Black Arrow (1944); Swing in the Saddle (1944); U-Boat Prisoner (1944); Stars on Parade (1944); The Black Parachute (1944); Two-Man Submarine (1944); The Ghost That Walks Alone (1944); Cowboy Canteen (1944); The Deerslayer (1943); The Return of the Vampire (1943); Doughboys in Ireland (1943); Redhead from Manhattan (1943); Murder in Times Square (1943); After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943); Power of the Press (1943); Junior Army (1942); Stand by All Networks (1942); The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942); Smith of Minnesota (1942); Sabotage Squad (1942); Atlantic Convoy (1942); Submarine Raider (1942); Not a Ladies' Man (1942); Alias Boston Blackie (1942); Canal Zone (1942); The Man Who Returned to Life (1942); Cadets on Parade (1942); Harvard, Here I Come! (1941); The Stork Pays Off (1941); Mystery Ship (1941); I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island (1941); The Singing Hill (1941); Back in the Saddle (1941); Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941); Lucky Devils (1941); Slightly Tempted (1940); Girl from Havana (1940); Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot (1940); Wagons Westward (1940); La Conga Nights (1940); Ski Patrol (1940); Enemy Agent (1940); Honeymoon Deferred (1940); Bad Lands (1939); Conspiracy (1939); The Girl and the Gambler (1939); Fixer Dugan (1939); Twelve Crowded Hours (1939); Pacific Liner (1939); Annabel Takes a Tour (1938); The Affairs of Annabel (1938); Smashing the Rackets (1938); Sky Giant (1938); Blind Alibi (1938); Law of the Underworld (1938); Condemned Women (1938); Double Danger (1938); Crashing Hollywood (1938); Danger Patrol (1937); Living on Love (1937); Flight from Glory (1937); Border Cafe (1937); You Can't Buy Luck (1937); The Man Who Found Himself (1937); They Wanted to Marry (1937); Night Waitress (1936); Without Orders (1936); Parole! (1936); The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936); Stormy (1935); The Raven (1935); The Call of the Savage (1935); Rustlers of Red Dog (1935); Tailspin Tommy (1934); The Red Rider (1934); The Vanishing Shadow (1934); The Escape (1914); Admission -- Two Pins (1914); The Escape (1913).

Born on this day – Edith North Johnson:

Edith North Johnson

Blues singer

Pianist

Songwriter

January 2, 1903 – February 28, 1988