Given the huge number of filmstrips produced and circulating in the middle of the twentieth century, it may be surprising how few survive within British libraries and archives. Indeed, you might have more luck searching on ebay.
This, in itself, may tell us much about the crumbling reputation and historical indifference displayed towards this once prevalent educational media. Yet there are other reasons for its apparent disappearance. Firstly, the filmstrip often evades categorisation and, as such, struggles to find a home. The filmstrip is inherently interdisciplinary and intermedial, but this also means that it falls somewhere between film, paper and photographic records, often beyond the reach and remit of each designated curator. The filmstrip is often defined by what it is not (film, moving) and so some archives, such as the BFI, deliberately (and understandably) decided that there was no room in their ever-expanding collections. Others may have received filmstrips somewhat reluctantly, alongside paper, photographic or film donations and, given that these are not seen as commercially exploitable, have rarely found a need to take them off the shelf.
Herein lies a further problem. Archives often hold the filmstrips but not the ability to play or show them. While a few institutions (most notably the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford) do hold filmstrip equipment, for most archives there is no space or demand for the chunky apparatus, particularly as it often came in multiple formats without a single standardised model.
However, the filmstrips remain rich, varied and ripe for rediscovery. Whether produced for government departments, church groups, hospitals, or schools, whether offering military training or religious instruction, for showing in Britain or across the redefined post-war Empire, these filmstrips often bring together leading experts and artists on a dazzling range of topics. Other collections offer an insight into the business of filmstrip production, such as the Marian Ray collection at UCL, which contains original artworks produced by this leading independent female filmstrip producer.
The filmstrip was never meant to be experienced on its own. Each archive and museum can thus provide another piece of the jigsaw, from the commentary booklets at the British Library, to the catalogues and periodicals at the BFI, or the educational wall charts at NLS. As we look to piece together the varied holdings in archives across the UK, we must also consider what we can do to bring these often-overlooked filmstrip materials out of the archive.
Tom Rice