Michael Holman Family Home Movie #3: 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 wide shot of the Eiffel Tower. This is followed by several shots of street scenes around Paris. Next, there are several shots of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France. The subsequent shots are of street scenes in an unidentified city in Spain, including one of an unidentified cathedral. Tracking shots of an unidentified coastline follow these scenes. The next scene is a series of tracking shots of an unidentified village at the foot of a mountain. There is a quick shot of an unidentified cathedral followed by shots of rural life in an unidentified location. A shot of the Puerto de Somosierra mountain pass precedes a series of shots overlooking an unidentified city, which conclude the film.

The standard yellow Kodak 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has handwritten mailing addresses for processing film in Europe. It also includes some handwritten notes on its contents.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1957
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• 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: Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lourdes, Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe
• Place depicted: Puerto de Somosierra, Segovia, Spain, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Catholicism
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.3.1abc
• 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.