The great train robbery: History and Collection Facts

Collection details

• Original format: Film, video
• Medium: non-viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 1,000 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.; paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 800 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.; viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (800 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.; paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 800 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.; viewing print (copy 2) 1 film reel of 1 (inc.) (ca. 690 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.; viewing print (copy 2) 1 film reel of 1 (302 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.; dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (inc.) (ca. 800 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.; dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (302 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.; viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (302 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.; viewing print (copy 3) 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 300 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.; viewing copy 1 videocassette of 1 (inc.) (Betacam SP) (ca. 10 min.) : si., b&w ; 1/2 in.
• Genre: Fiction films; Western films; Silent films; Short films
• Language: English
• Location as catalogued: United States
• Repository: Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C. 20540 USA dcu
• Call number: Box 0702A (paper pos); FEA 4498 (viewing print, copy 2); FLA 5421 (viewing print); FPE 5360 (dupe neg pic); FRA 3923 (dupe neg pic); FLA 4912 (viewing print, copy 2); VBS 0062 (viewing copy); Box 5799A (paper pos, copy 2); FAD 1691 (viewing print, copy 3); FLA 5949 (viewing print); FPG 0223 (non-viewing print)
• Catalogue date: 1903
• Catalogue subjects: Posses--United States--Drama; Outlaws--United States--Drama; Train robberies--United States--Drama
• Named contributors: Barnes, J. D. (Justus D.), 1862-1946, cast; Smith, James Blair, camera; Anderson, Gilbert M., 1880-1971, cast; Porter, Edwin S., production, camera; Thomas A. Edison, Inc; Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress); Edison Collection (Library of Congress); Marble, Scott; Museum of Modern Art Collection (Library of Congress)

Catalogue notes

• Camera, Edwin S. Porter, J.B. Smith, and others.
• Non-viewing print was acquired for LC's National Film Preservation Tour, featuring titles from the National Film Registry.
• Paper print shelf number (LC 2443) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
• Filmed during November 1903 at Edison's New York studio, in Essex County Park in New Jersey (South Mountain Reservation) and along the Lackawanna Railroad, probably between Denville and Dover, New Jersey.
• Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.
• Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.

Sources and reuse

This guide reorganizes bibliographic facts and catalogue descriptions from the Library of Congress Free to Use and Reuse data package, a published snapshot documented in 2024. The original item record identifies the source material. Audio, films, scores and full-text works are linked through the original record rather than reproduced here.