Brinton Collection

The Brinton Collection is a collection of early cinematography that was used by William Franklin Brinton for his traveling show in the Midwestern United States.

William Franklin Brinton

Brinton was the Washington, Iowa Graham Opera House manager; a public speaker; an inventor; solar house builder; airship builder; movie house projectionist. Brinton married Elizabeth Norris and had 4 children. Brinton later married Indiana Putman, health food advocate and nudist.

Background

It was preserved and discovered by history teacher, Michael Zahs, in a barn in Ainsworth, Iowa.

Collection

The collection included footage of Teddy Roosevelt, the world's first newsreel involving the 1900 Galveston hurricane and works by Georges Méliès that were thought to have been lost: The Wonderful Rose-Tree and The Triple-Headed Lady.

Legacy

The collection's history was recounted in a film documentary, Saving Brinton, in 2018.