Lantern: Shedding a Light on Classic American Media
- walshk41
- Jan 18, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 3, 2021
Lantern launched in 2013 as a project of the Media History Digital Library. Dr. Eric Hoyt (Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) in addition to Wendy and Carl Hagenmaier, developed this open-access search platform. An article in the Journal of e-Media Studies outlines their entire project, noting the inefficiency of microfilm research as their major motivation.
It holds the Media History Digital Library's 20 collections of roughly 2 million pages of digitized periodicals, books, annuals, and catalogs of American media history from 1849-1996. Lantern is the advanced search tool of these collections offering filters like date, title, collection, format, and language as seen on the left below as well as basic to advanced search options at the top.
In 2017, Dr. Hoyt became Director of the Media History Digital Library when its founder David Pierce stepped down to accept a position as Assistant Chief at the Library of Congress’ National Audio-Vision Conservation Center.
Pierce founded the Digital Library in 2009 approaching institutions like the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library and the Museum of Modern Art Library as well as private collectors for funding and collection contributions.
All works are shareable because copyright has either expired or are licensed to do so by the Digital Library. These trade papers have been crucial for research in this area, especially since films from this era are still protected by copyright.
Its projects are highly appreciated by media archivists around the world as seen in this promotional video. By scanning different collections from various institutions, Lantern possesses the most extensive collection of certain media sources available to the public.
As a non-profit, funding comes from private donors as well as organizations like the Mary Pickford Foundation, Domitor, and University of St. Andrews Library & Centre for Film Studies. All collections and sponsors are listed on their About page.
The Media History Digital Library is a sub-collection of the Internet Archive, another non-profit which began in 1996 to archive the Internet. The Digital Library's collections are hosted and managed by this organization which has full-text searchable software. Funding for this archives comes from various foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Democracy Fund, and the National Science Foundation.
For my research about America’s vision of the Italian film industry and its Fascist roots, I will analyze articles solely from Motion Picture Herald—an editorial trade paper found in 1915 by publisher, Martin Quigley. With global correspondents like Joseph D. Ravotto in Rome, this periodical will provide an excellent American perspective of Hollywood and Italy’s tense relationship over the monopoly of the European film market nuanced by the Second World War and Il Duce.
The extensiveness of Lantern requires researchers to have a specific subject in mind regarding film, broadcasting, or radio. It will only provide the perspective of American journalists writing for mainstream media. If interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood Studio System, this is not the archives for you because these are precisely the periodicals that shaped that American image.
That said, when combined with external articles or books, Lantern’s sources are the closest evidence one will find of how American consumers perceived cultural staples like Hollywood. Lantern streamlines the research process to make it the most user-friendly experience possible whether a scholar, student, or fan of classic American media.
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