The Motion Picture Industry

Extract

The early business career of motion pictures lies entangled in the correspondence and documents of the firm of Raff & Gammon which have been presented to our organization through the kindness of Terry Ramsaye, Editor-in-Chief of Pathé Exchange, Inc., New York. Lost in the volumes of vituperative letters from impatient dealers and the business negotiations of Raff & Gammon for the sale of monopoly rights for whole states, the business history of the industry awaits a thorough ransacking of the available documents. What is most apparent immediately is the excitement of the public in the new invention and the rush of the more adroit to seize the profits from its immediate exploitation.