The History of the Discovery Lecture Films
The Papers of Admiral Richard E. Byrd were acquired by The Ohio State University in 1985, with a second acquisition received in 1990, totaling more than 500 cubic feet of materials including: personal papers, expeditionary records, photographs, film and artifacts. The Polar Curator, Laura Kissel, wrote the following overview of the Byrd Collection and the Discovery Lecture Films.
"In 1933-1935, Byrd went to Antarctica for the second time. Buoyed from the success of his first expedition of 1928-1930, Byrd returned to Antarctica with an expanded scientific agenda. Many branches of science were represented including biology, meteorology, geology, geography, aerial exploration, oceanography, seismology, and terrestrial magnetism. Many “firsts” in the history of Antarctic exploration were achieved by the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. While still reliant on dog sleds, this was the first Antarctic expedition on which long-distance automotive transport proved to be of practical use. The first radio broadcast from Antarctica to the rest of world was on February 1, 1934. This expedition was the first to make seismic investigations of Antarctica, providing evidence as to the extent of whether the Ross Ice Shelf is aground or afloat. Byrd’s status as a national hero was reinforced upon the conclusion of BAE II, and Byrd was highly sought on the public lecture tour circuit."
"The extent of the collection is significant, with more than 500 cubic feet of materials in a wide ranging variety of formats including film elements. Prior to the repository receiving the collection, the materials had been housed in a variety of places, including several warehouses and a barn, and had been moved periodically, resulting in disorganization and a hazardous preservation environment. OSU received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the processing of the Byrd Papers, which took place over a two-year period from November 1, 1992 through October 31, 1994. Limitations of the funding necessitated prioritizing the processing of this large collection. Thus, the primary focus of the processing was on the paper documentation and still images. Films received only cursory attention, and were inventoried according to information on the canister or contained within the canisters. No cleaning, repair or rehousing of film elements was undertaken at this time. Consequently, films in advancing stages of deterioration continued to deteriorate, many beyond the point of preservation. Despite the odds, some film elements survive and should be preserved."
"A thorough analysis of the film elements in the Byrd collection was undertaken from May – July 2012. Unfortunately, the news was not good. We found that many of our films, both nitrate and acetate, were in the advanced stages of decomposition, with no possibility of preservation. The Discovery Lecture Film Series was originally comprised of a total of 28 reels of film. Of these 28 reels, only ten film reels have survived. Many complimentary materials exist in the collection, including detailed scripts that were used by Byrd during the lectures. For the most part, these scripts are typewritten, though heavily annotated in Byrd’s hand. Taken together with the films, we get a wonderful glimpse into what it might have been like to be in the audience of one of Byrd’s lectures. Additional documentation of the lecture circuit exists in the collection, in the form of schedules, balance sheets, and correspondence between Byrd, his publicity agent and others."
