Photographs made by Hamilton Wright Jr. in Egypt, South Africa, India, Lebanon, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Alaska, Colorado, and New Hampshire. They include images of modern and ancient structures and monuments, artifacts, industries, cities, markets, caves, festivals, beaches, scenery, and sporting events. Most appear to have been made for the Hamilton Wright Organization, an international agency that made films and photographs to support public relations campaigns of foreign governments. Also included are some lantern slides depicting historical sites in Egypt, directed by Hamilton Wright, Sr., and one-sheets for motion picture films produced by the Hamilton Wright Organization. Additional material includes slide narration for a lecture and short news stories relating to the images in the collection.
Biographical/Historical note:
In 1908, Hamilton Wright Sr. founded the Hamilton Wright Organization, a public relations firm that specialized in making travelog and newsreel film and distributing it to motion picture houses around the world, often on behalf of domestic and foreign governments. Wright's son, Hamilton Wright Jr., managed the company after his father and expanded it's work. In 1963, a Senate committee criticized the Hamilton Wright Organization for hosting press junkets and distributing its photographs, newsreels, and stories in American news media without reporting its sources. The Hamilton Wright Organization was closed by Hamilton Wright Jr.'s son in the late 1960s.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 76-35
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Films by the Hamilton Wright Organization can be found in the Human Studies Film Archive in HSFA 94.19.
The Film and Television Archive at the University of California at Los Angeles holds the motion picture film and related material of the Hamilton Wright Organization.
Pennsylvania State University. Audio-Visual Services Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (7 minutes, black-and-white sound; 199 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Edited film produced by the Hamilton Wright Organization of New York for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo, presents the variety of religions and religious monuments to be found in Egypt. Featured are the Mohammed Ali mosque and the Greek Orthodox monastery at Mt. Sinai-St. Catherines. The presence of Judaism is illustrated by an unidentified synagogue in Cairo with an ancient Torah. Also shown is the Coptic Church of Boutros Gali in Cairo and St. Sarquios, the "oldest church in Egypt."
Legacy Keywords: South America ; Cairo (Egypt) ; Egyptians
General:
Local Number: HSFA 1994.19.14
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Penn State educational film collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Pennsylvania State University. Audio-Visual Services Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (5 minutes, black-and-white sound; 200 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Edited film produced by the Hamilton Wright Organization of New York City with help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo. Shown are film studios, film lots and scenes of films in production, including one with Egyptian actress Samiah Gamal. Also included is footage of motion picture palaces (theatres) in downtown Cairo.
Legacy Keywords: South America ; Egypt
General:
Local Number: HSFA 1994.19.23
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Penn State educational film collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Pennsylvania State University. Audio-Visual Services Search this
Extent:
1 Film reel (6 minutes, black-and-white sound; 220 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Edited film produced by the Hamilton Wright Organization of New York City with help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo describes life in the industrial community of Mehalla al Cobra (Egypt), the self-described "workman's paradise." Shown are Mehalla's large textile (cotton and wool) mills, worker's housing, schools for millworkers' children and worker recreation activities.
Legacy Keywords: South America ; Egypt
General:
Local Number: HSFA 1994.19.24
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Penn State educational film collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
