A piece of American history, “The Heart of Lincoln,” has been recovered and preserved indefinitely in Long Island.
NBC states the film is “a silent movie about the life of President Abraham Lincoln and American life during the Civil War.” This 1915 reel is truly a national treasure of cinema.
Originally released by Universal, the film starring Francis Ford captures Lincoln’s compassion and enlightenment during a time when the Civil War was devastating families, according to CBS. The film was thought to have been completely lost, along with 7,000 other silent films listed by the Library of Congress.
The importance of this film goes on to also mark the 50th anniversary of both Lincoln’s death in 1865 and the end of the Civil War when the film was released by Universal in 1915.
“It’s a piece of the puzzle that’s now been found. The puzzle of lost American cinema,” NBC said.
In 1858, Lincoln famously declared, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” during his election for Senate to abolish slavery. Archives shed light on more of the Civil War’s brutality amongst 650,000 Americans.
About 70% of silent films are gone, according to Yahoo. This is due to their composition of highly combustible nitrate film stock. Finding a historical film intact and restorable was virtually improbable; it was surprising that it had not completely deteriorated.
In Greenport, N.Y., at Historic Films Archive, a summer intern named Dan Martin was given the task of sorting through collectibles. He then found the American film relic while sifting through film canisters. Martin stumbled upon this treasure and knew immediately he had discovered a vital piece of history.
The discovery proves “no intern’s task is too small,” NBC said. Martin was pleasantly surprised and added that he was happy to end his internship on such a great note.
When Martin brought the film to his manager’s attention, it was turned to Eliot Kissileff, a film archivist.
Kissileff was able to salvage the film and commemorate this piece of history by digitizing the movie. Coincidentally, Lincoln’s birthday is Feb. 12, and as a way of celebrating, the silent film can soon be watched by modern audiences to enjoy a historical piece of cinema.
