Andre de la Varre Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Varre, Gretl de la, Mrs.
label: Creator
content: Holmes, Burton, 1870-1958
label: Creator
content: Varre, Andre de la, 1904-
place: label: Place
content: Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
label: Place
content: Spain
topic: label: Topic
content: Bullfights
label: Topic
content: Lecturers
label: Topic
content: Photographers
label: Topic
content: Travel photography -- 1900-1950
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Mrs. Gretl de la Varre, June 30, 2001.
creator: label: Creator
content: Varre, Gretl de la, Mrs.
label: Creator
content: Holmes, Burton, 1870-1958
label: Creator
content: Varre, Andre de la, 1904-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Andre de la Varre Collection
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.5 Cubic feet (4 boxes, 2 loose photographs)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1920-1930
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0782
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Lecture notes
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Press releases
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into five series.

Series 1: Letters

Series 2: Photographs

Series 3: Papers relating to appearances of Burton Holmes and Andre La Varre

Series 4: Printed Materials

Series 5: Books
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by NMAH Staff, 2003.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Lecture notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters
label: Genre/Form
content: Press releases
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Papers relating to the travel writer, photographer and lecturer Burton Holmes, and to De La Varre's own activities as a travel photographer. Includes letters, photographs, printed material, and a set of travel books written by Holmes.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at Other Organizations

The Travel Film Archive

Andre De La Varre

Born in Washington D.C. in 1902, Andre de la Varre quit school at age 17, bought a motion picture camera, and went to Europe to find adventure. He began making his own travel films and in 1924 became a cameraman for Burton Holmes. In the early 1930's, de la Varre went out on his own as "The Screen Traveler" and made theatrical shorts for independent release as well as for many of the major Hollywood Studios. He traveled and filmed constantly. In an autobiographical sketch, he wrote: "During the winter of 1938-39 I drove more than 10,000 miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I covered not only cities and coastal regions but criss-crossed back and forth over the Atlas, Djurdjura, Kebelie, and Aures mountains. I also visited many of the oases on the Northern Sahara and crossed over trails or no trails in the deserts and mountains." De la Varre continued traveling and making films for the next forty years and died in Vienna, Austria at the age of 87.