Michael Holman Family Home Movie #11: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original plastic film reel (b), and an original cardboard film box (c).

The film begins with a series of shots of a group of people in Paris filling a car to capacity with luggage. This is followed by a shot of a group of people posed in front of the Eiffel Tower. Next, the film depicts people gathering and greeting one another outside Royal Albert Hall in London for the Baha'i World Faith Congress. Linda Holman stands in the center of a group of people wearing a headscarf tied around her chin and a jacket with a fur collar. Linda Holman then appears in another shot wearing a white jacket and a light colored headband. Among those in the crowd are people clothed in Mexican charro suits and South Asian saris. The film concludes with a wide shot of the proceedings of the congress within the concert hall.

The standard yellow Kodak 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has handwritten mailing addresses for processing film in Europe. It also includes a brief handwritten content note.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1962-1963
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Subject of: Linda Holman, American, born 1953
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 8mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film, plastic and cardboard
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe
• Place depicted: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.11.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Michael Holman Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.