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Welcome to the Media History Digital Library

We are a non-profit initiative dedicated to digitizing collections of classic media periodicals that belong in the public domain for full public access. The project is supported by owners of materials who loan them for scanning, and donors who contribute funds to cover the cost of scanning. We have currently scanned over 1.3 million pages, and that number is growing.

Our Collections feature Extensive Runs of several important trade papers and fan magazines. Click on the arrows below to learn more about these periodicals and select volumes to download and read. You’ll find more material and options at our Collections page.

Broadcasting (1931-1956)

Business Screen (1938-1973)

Cine-Mundial (1916-1946)

    Description (English)

      Cine-Mundial, the Spanish-language version of Moving Picture World, was published between 1916 and 1948. The magazine documents Hollywood’s growing dominance in Latin American markets in the 1920s and the emergence of national film industries, such as those of Mexico and Argentina after the introduction of sound film. Far from being a mere translation of its English-language counterpart, Cine-Mundial focused on issues that were important to its readers in Latin American and Spain—the representation of Latin Americans on screen, the geo-politics of film distribution, and Hollywood’s short foray into Spanish-language film production in the late 1920 and early 1930s. Functioning as both trade publication and fan magazine, its regular columns that featured reports from national correspondents and letters from readers from every corner of the Spanish-speaking world provides invaluable insight into Latin American audiences and their reception of both imported and nationally or regionally produced films.

      – Laura Isabel Serna, 2013.

    Descripción (español)

      Cine Mundial, la versión en español de Moving Picture World fue publicado entre 1916 y 1948. La revista documenta el crecimiento del dominio de Hollywood en los mercados de América Latina que surgió en los años veinte tanto como el nacimiento de industrias cinematográficas nacionales como las de México y Argentina. Más que una mera traducción de su contraparte en inglés, Cine-Mundial enfocaba en asuntos de importancia para sus lectores en América Latina y España—la representación de latinos en el cine estadounidense, la economía política de la producción y distribución de películas, y las esfuerzas de Hollywood a complacer los públicos latinos, como la producción de películas en español a los finales de los años veinte y primeros años del siguiente década. Funcionó al mismo tiempo como publicación comercial y revista para aficionados del cine. Las columnas de noticias mensual escritas por corresponsales desde varias naciones y ciudades de América Latina y las cartas enviadas a la redacción desde los rincones del mundo hispano proporcionan una visión panorámica de los públicos latinos y su recepción de películas importadas, nacionales, y regionales.

      – Laura Isabel Serna, 2013.

    Notes

      Cine-Mundial was scanned and sponsored by the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. The 1916-1946 run accessible below is missing the following three volumes and years: vol. 4 (1919), vol. 9 (1924), and vol. 15 (1930).

    1916. Vol 1 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1917. Vol 2 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1918. Vol 3 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1920. Vol 5 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1921. Vol 6 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1922. Vol 7 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1923. Vol 8 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1925. Vol 10 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1926. Vol 11 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1927. Vol 12 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1928. Vol 13 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1929. Vol 14 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1931. Vol 16 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1932. Vol 17 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1933. Vol 18 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1934. Vol 19 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1935. Vol 20 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1936. Vol 21 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1937. Vol 22 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1938. Vol 23 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1939. Vol 24 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1940. Vol 25 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1941. Vol 26 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1942. Vol 27 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1943. Vol 28 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1944. Vol 29 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1945. Vol 30 | Read | Download | IA Page

    1946. Vol 31 | Read | Download | IA Page

Close Up (1927-1933)

    Description

      As an active film magazine, CLOSE UP lasted only a short time, from 1927 to 1933. Yet the legacy of this English-language periodical, which was published in Switzerland, continues to matter. Edited by Bryher and her husband Kenneth Macpherson, CLOSE UP became THE magazine for energetic debates about the nature of cinema and manifestos imagining new forms of filmmaking and spectatorship. The magazine published articles by filmmakers, such as Sergei Eisenstein, and accomplished female modernist writers, such as H.D. and Gertrude Stein. As film scholar Anne Friedberg explains in the anthology CLOSE UP, 1927-1933: CINEMA & MODERNISM, “CLOSE UP became the model for a certain type of writing about film — writing that was theoretically astute, politically incisive, critical of films that were simply ‘entertainment.’ For six and a half years, CLOSE UP maintained a forum for a broad variety of ideas about the cinema; it never advocated a single direction of development, but rather posed alternatives to existing modes of production, consumption, and film style.” Like Friedberg’s own books, CLOSE UP continues to be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of film and media theory. — Eric Hoyt, 2014
    Notes

      CLOSE UP was scanned and sponsored by the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. Beginning in 1931, the magazine changed formats from a monthly to a quarterly periodical.

    Jul-Dec 1927. Vol 1 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Jun 1928. Vol 2 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jul-Dec 1928. Vol 3 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Jun 1929. Vol 4 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jul-Dec 1929. Vol 5 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Jun 1930. Vol 6 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jul-Dec 1930. Vol 7 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Dec 1931. Vol 8 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Dec 1932. Vol 9 | Read | Download | IA Page

    Jan-Dec 1933. Vol 10 | Read | Download | IA Page

The Film Daily (1918-1948)

International Photographer (1929-1941)

Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1916-1949)

Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1950-1954)

The Educational Screen (1922-1962)

Modern Screen (1930-1960)

Motion Picture [Magazine] (1914-1941)

Motion Picture Daily (1931-1960)

Motion Picture Herald (1931-1948)

Motion Picture News (1913-1930)

Motion Picture News Booking Guide (1922-25)

Moving Picture World (1907-1919)

Photoplay (1914-1940)

Radio Age: Research, Manufacturing, Communications, Broadcasting, Television (1942-1957)

    Description

      Radio Age was published by RCA – the Radio Corporation of America – to promote current and future technological developments and major programming events on NBC. Despite the title’s reference to radio, the emphasis throughout is on the future promise of television. Digitized by the Prelinger Library.
    Oct 1942-Jul 1945. Vol 2-4 | Read | Download | IA Page
    Oct 1945-Jul 1948. Vol 5-7 | Read | Download | IA Page
    Oct 1948-Jul 1950. Vol 8-9 | Read | Download | IA Page
    Oct 1950-Oct 1952. Vol 10-11 | Read | Download | IA Page
    Jan 1953-Oct 1954. Vol 12-13 | Read | Download | IA Page
    Jan 1955-Oct 1957. Vol 14-16 | Read | Download | IA Page
Radio Broadcast (1922-1930)

Screenland (1920-1960)

Sponsor (1946-1964)

Talking Machine World (1906-1928)

Variety (1905-1949)

Magazine of the Month

Close Up (September 1929) — “The Only Magazine Devoted to Films as an Art.”

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