ELMER ALBINSON:

Elmer Albinson was born August 8, 1906. An early enthusiast in motion picture filming, he is credited with purchasing film from the first lot of color film to reach Minnesota in 1933. He traveled extensively, visiting and filming other places and cultures. In 1936 he married and spent his honeymoon filming in the jungles of Ecuador.

A funeral director by profession, he was named director of the American Swedish Institute in 1954. Around that time, the Minneapolis Star newspaper named him one of the country's top avocational filmmakers. His film, "Lake Superior Landscape," won him a host of awards, and "Homespun," a documentary of Swedish weaving, went on to be nationally distributed. Albinson was a charter member of the Minneapolis Cine Club and won several awards there for his films. He died on February 16, 1980.

Return to top

Access Restrictions:

Access to the master copies is restricted and requires the permission of the sound and visual curator.

Use Restrictions:

Items in this collection are for viewing purposes only.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here. Albinson, Elmer. Elmer Albinson Film Collection. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2008.2; AV2008.79

Location of Master Files:

Digital masters of film recordings and audio reels are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

The original audio reels were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into WAV files.

Processing Information:

Processed by: J. Huebscher, September 2009.

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Digital video and audio transferred from the master film recordings and audio reels by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (September 2019).

Catalog ID number: 990069598840104294

Return to top

Location

III.53.1

Pueblo arts, approximately 1951. 1 master film reel (11 minutes, 3 seconds): sound, optical, color; 16 mm. reversal positive print and 1 user video file: MP4 (103 MB).

Footage includes Pueblo Indians and their pottery process along with commentary on their art style.

Narrator: Ray Christensen.

Digital version

Location

III.53.17

Pueblo arts, workprint, approximately 1951. 1 master film reel (11 minutes, 1 second): silent, black and white; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (807 MB).

Includes similar footage to Navajo country (III.53.1).

Digital version

Location

III.53.2

Pueblo arts, narration track, approximately 1951. 1 master film reel (10 minutes, 57 seconds): sound, optical; 16 mm. master positive track and 1 user audio file: MP3 (7.2 MB).

Narrator: Ray Christensen.

Digital version

Location

III.53.3

Navajo country, approximately 1951. 1 master film reel (10 minutes, 8 seconds): sound, multiple variable area, color; 16 mm. reversal positive print, and 1 user video file: MP4 (95.7 MB).

Footage includes Navajo Indians and their relationship with the land which includes herding animals, spinning wool, creating rugs and jewelry.

Digital version

Location

III.53.4

Lake Superior landscape, workprint, approximately 1947. 1 master film reel (10 minutes, 15 seconds): sound, magnetic, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (105 MB).

Footage features artist Dewey Albinson and his painting journey as he demonstrates his technique for capturing large landscapes.

Digital version

Location

III.53.5

Lake Superior landscape, workprint and intertitles, approximately 1947. 1 master film reel (4 minuts, 1 second): sound, magnetic, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (37.2 MB).

Footage includes intertitles.

Digital version

Location

III.53.9

Drama of an old farm, approximately 1953. 1 master film reel (20 minutes, 39 seconds): sound, optical, color; 16 mm. reversal positive print, and 1 user video file: MP4 (198 MB).

Footage features artist Dewey Albinson touring an old farm, discussing his approach in studying and selecting subject matter.

Narrator: Dewey Albinson.

Digital version

Location

III.53.6

Drama of an old farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953. 1 master film reel (15 minutes, 50 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (157.1 MB).

Footage cut from Drama of an old farm (III.53.9).

Digital version

Location

III.53.7

Drama of an old farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953. 1 master film reel (20 minutes, 13 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (191 MB).

Footage cut from Drama of an old farm (III.53.9).

Digital version

Location

III.53.8

Drama of an old farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953. 1 master film reel (21 minutes, 2 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (198 MB).

Footage cut from Drama of an old farm (III.53.9).

Digital version

Location

III.53.10

Drama of an old farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953. 1 master film reel (4 minutes, 6 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (294 MB).

Footage cut from Drama of an old farm (III.53.9).

Digital version

Location

III.53.11

Lutsen shore, undated. 1 master film reel (2 minutes, 19 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (163 MB).

Digital version

Location

III.53.12

McMillan in Cutter Bay, undated. 1 master film reel (2 minutes, 35 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (182 MB).

Digital version

Location

III.53.13

Seminole Indians, 1949. 1 master film reel (10 minutes, 48 seconds): sound, multiple variable area, color; 16 mm. reversal positive print, and 1 user video file: MP4 (792 MB).

Footage includes Seminole Indians' daily activities and customs such as beading, basket making, cooking, and hunting.

Digital version

Location

III.53.14

My Chippewa home revisted: featuring Ellen Bushman, undated. 1 master video file (23 minutes, 17 seconds): MOV (5.3 GB) and 1 user video file: MP4 (230.7 GB).

Ellen Bushman returns to her childhood home in Grand Portage to share with her daughter, Shelly, how she was raised in Chippewa tradition. Ellen's grandfather was a medicine man and some of his practices are captured.

Related material: Chippewa home narration track is separately cataloged in the Elmer Albinson Grand Portage footage in the Minnesota Historical Society sound and visual collection.

Digital video

Return to top

Location

III.53.15

Drama of an old farm, narration track, approximately 1953. 1 master audio file (25 minutes, 26 seconds): WAV (128 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (16.5 MB).

Narrator: Dewey Albinson.

Digital audio

Location

III.53.16

Music for the film Homespun, 1952. 1 master audio file (27 minutes, 22 seconds): WAV (138 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (17.9 MB).

Digital audio

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Composition (Art)

Farms -- Minnesota.

Indians of North America.

Persons:

Albinson, Dewey, 1898-1971.

Document Types:

Motion pictures.

Sound recordings.

Return to top