Whew, I’m nearing the end of the semester! Come on Christmas!
Burton Holmes
So I’ve become a big fan of this guy – travel lecturer, early film pioneer, and all around a likeable guy – based off of his autobiography The World is Mine. Now, with a title like that you’d think he was completely full of himself, and perhaps he was, but it doesn’t come off that way in his writing. He was born in 1870, began giving travel lectures accompanied by magic lantern slides in the late 19th century, and then went into travel film making.
He comes out of the Victorian era, though his perspective on religion when he was close to death in the 1950s is so enlightened and modern, even for the 1950s. He discusses his thoughts on existence, his desire to believe in reincarnation, his unsureness in everything, yet his faith in the general universe. A refreshing surprise and a welcome perspective.
His travel work is fascinating as well – he really traveled everywhere! I’ve only looked at his work in England to this point (for my class paper), but I’ll definitely be having a look-see at his other travel work.
More wonderful tidbits on this under-talked-about travel icon can be found at this great site: Burton Holmes, Extraordinary Traveler.
Next on the plate: The representation of Dolores Del Rio and Lupe Velez in Photoplay magazine in the early 1930s. I’ve got a mini presentation to give on the topic tomorrow – details to follow once I figure them out, eep.
Illuminated Past 