Percy B. Eckhart films
name: label: Creator
content: Eckhart, Percy B. (Percy Bernard), 1877-1969
place: label: Place
content: Caribbean Area
label: Place
content: Africa
label: Place
content: Asia
label: Place
content: Europe
label: Place
content: South America
label: Place
content: United States
label: Place
content: Mediterranean Region
topic: label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Harbors
label: Topic
content: Ships
label: Topic
content: Tourism
label: Topic
content: Recreation
label: Topic
content: Beaches
label: Topic
content: Monuments
label: Topic
content: Ruins
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated by Wendy Williams in 2017.
creator: label: Creator
content: Eckhart, Percy B. (Percy Bernard), 1877-1969
culture: label: Culture
content: Seminole
setName: label: See more items in
content: Percy B. Eckhart films
abstract: label: Summary
content: Percy B. Eckhart was a lawyer, a prolific oil painter, and a supporter of the arts. Most of the film footage in this collection is of travel, but there is also film footage of his family, and of a fiction film.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Percy Bernard Eckhart was born in 1877 in Lake Forest, Illinois. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and his law degree from Harvard University. He taught public utility law at the University of Chicago and was a founding partner in the law firm of Eckhart, McSwain, Hassell, and Husum. He also served as legal counsel for the Art Institute of Chicago. His support of the arts included serving as a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, a founder of the Ravinia Festival association, and a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestral association. He additionally served as director and officer of the B. A. Eckhart Milling company, a firm started by his late father; as a member of the executive committee of Montgomery Ward & Co; as a director of Chicago Title & Trust company, and the Champlain Oil & Refining company; and as president of the DeSoto Securities company, DeSoto Realty Trust, and the 208 La Salle Street corporation. In 1951, he received Northwestern University's centennial award. In his spare time, he was also a prolific oil painter (primarily of landscapes, some of which were exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1920s). Eckhart died in 1969 in Lake Placid, New York. 

Sources Consulted

"Percy Eckhart Dies at Age 93; A Civic Leader." Chicago Tribune, July 16, 1969.

Chronology

1877 -- Born in Lake Forest, Illinois

1899 -- Graduated from the University of Chicago

1902 -- Received J.D. from Harvard University

1903-1915 -- Taught public utility law at the University of Chicago

1951 -- Received Northwestern University's centennial award

1969 -- Died in Lake Placid, New York
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 23 Film reels (14,300 feet, 16mm)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
content: Physical condition of the film ranges from fine to severely deteriorated; all film is acetate and vinegar syndrome has affected the reels to varying degrees.

In 2015, the donor sent the films to Click Scan Share in Lafayette, California, for transfer to DVDs. Copies of the DVDs are available for reference. Image is often jittery and exhibits "breathing" and some was transferred on wrong orientation (writing is projected backwards). DVD includes no titles or breaks between separate rolls, though DVD chapter breaks do correspond correctly to the order of rolls provided by the lab (these divisions can be accessed with the "skip" function).
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1925-1954
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: HSFA.2017.05
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged in 3 series: (1) Travel Footage, 1926-1936, 1949-1950; (2) Home Movies, 1925-1932, 1947; (3) Miscellaneous Film Footage, 1954
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Film arrived in small rolls and was assembled into larger film rolls between 800 feet and 1000 feet when possible. Film rolls that were in particularly poor physical condition were kept separate for handling purposes. All film footage is estimated, as the rolls could not be run through a film footage calculator due to shrinkage.

Film was assembled in original numbered order whenever possible. Numbered films proceed largely chronologically by subject. Information written on each film reel and/or can appears in bulleted lists on the following pages. Reels tended to come in their own cans, with the exception of a few larger cans that housed multiple film rolls. Square brackets indicate titles supplied by archives staff.

Most film is black-and-white. Note that one roll (2017.5.3-3 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: Virginia Gardens, 1932]) is Kodacolor, a film format that contains color information in a lenticular format. This film footage appears black and white until projected through the required filters. There is also tinted film in 2017.5.7 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: World Cruise, 1936], and Kodachrome in 2017.5.6 [Percy B. Eckhart Travel Footage: Europe, 1949-1950].

Processed by Annie Schweikert, February 2017

Encoded by Katherine Christensen, August 2020
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection contains the films of Percy B. Eckhart. The travel film footage includes trips to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Virginia, Florida, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Western Europe. The home movie film footage was filmed in Lyme, Connecticut; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Charlevoix, Michigan. The miscellaneous film footage is outtakes and tests from a professional or serious amateur fiction film and Eugene Castle's "Hindenberg Explodes!" Castle's film is the only one in this collection that was published.