ELMER ALBINSON:

An Inventory of His Film Collection at the Minnesota Historical Society

Sound and Visual Collection

Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For details, please see restrictions.


Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Albinson, Elmer
Title:Elmer Albinson film collection.
Dates:approximately 1950-1965.
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Film and sound components for various motion pictures. Includes working elements as well as completed films. Some of the working elements are for films independently cataloged in the sound and visual collection. Views from films represent farm scenes, his brother Dewey painting and sketching, American Indians, and the North Shore.
Quantity:13 master film reels: 16 mm., 14 user video files: MP4 (3.5 GB), 2 master audio files: WAV (266 MB), and 3 user audio files: MP3 (41.6 MB).
Location:III.53: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

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.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

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:

Legacy Amendment logo

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


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

RESTRICTED: Master films in this collection cannot be viewed without the permission of the Sound and Visual Curator.

Expand/CollapseFILM RECORDINGS

Location
III.53.1Pueblo 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.
Pueblo, approximately 1951Digital version
Location
III.53.17Pueblo 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).
Pueblo Arts, workprint, approximately 1951Digital version
Location
III.53.2Pueblo 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.
Pueblo, approximately 1951Digital version
Location
III.53.3Navajo 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.
Navajo Country, approximately 1951Digital version
Location
III.53.4Lake 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.
Lake Superior Landscape, workprint, approximately 1947Digital version
Location
III.53.5Lake 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.
Lake Superior Landscape, workprint and intertitles, approximately 1947Digital version
Location
III.53.9Drama 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.
Drama of an Old Farm, approximately 1953Digital version
Location
III.53.6Drama 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).
Drama of an Old Farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953Digital version
Location
III.53.7Drama 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).
Drama of an Old Farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953Digital version
Location
III.53.8Drama 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).
Drama of an Old Farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953Digital version
Location
III.53.10Drama 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).
Drama of an Old Farm, trims and outs, approximately 1953Digital version
Location
III.53.11Lutsen shore, undated. 1 master film reel (2 minutes, 19 seconds): silent, color; 16 mm. reversal positive, and 1 user video file: MP4 (163 MB).
Lutsen shore, undatedDigital version
Location
III.53.12McMillan 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).
McMillan in Cutter Bay, undatedDigital version
Location
III.53.13Seminole 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.
Seminole Indians, 1949Digital version
Location
III.53.14My 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.
My Chippewa Home Revisited: featuring Ellen Bushman, undatedDigital video

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Expand/CollapseSOUND RECORDINGS

Location
III.53.15Drama 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.
Drama of an Old Farm, narration track, approximately 1953Digital audio
Location
III.53.16Music 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).
Music for the film Homespun, 1952Digital audio

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Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

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.

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