Film and Video collections

Collection Items

• 

  Nature Closeups, Series 3: Creatures of the Night, circa 1951-1952

  This 16mm silent Kentucky wildlife film was produced by Walter (1892-1957) and Elizabeth Catterall Shackleton (1894-1982) from footage of nocturnal wildlife around their 200-acre home in the Sleepy Hollow area of Prospect, Kentucky. It was their first film produced under their company Shackleton Productions, incorporated in 1949. Wildlife filmed include birds, raccoons, a salamander, a mole, owls, and flying squirrels.
  
  Walter began naturalist documentary work as a bird and wildlife photographer. He attended an Audubon Screen Tour in the 1940s, which inspired him to take up motion picture film. For their films, Walter shot the footage, Elizabeth logged the shots, and the couple worked together to craft the story and splice together the film. Walter Shackleton showed their films in Louisville in the late 1940s and began touring for National Audubon Society sponsored showings around the United States in 1952.
• 

  Ohio Valley animals, 1940s-1960s

  Compilation of silent film footage of animals from film collections at the Filson Historical Society. The footage was exhibited in "Animals in the Archives" at the Filson from 2023-2024.