Trove of silent films ... discovered in dumped shelf unit at recycling centre

[Scottie]

That's a reel find: Trove of silent films from 100 years ago are discovered in dumped shelf unit at recycling centre including rare 1928 movie The Cardboard Lover

An incredible collection of 100-year-old near-extinct silent films from the Golden Age of cinema have been found - at a tip.

The historic reels of film dating back to 1909 were discovered in a dumped shelving unit at a recycling centre in Sidmouth, Devon.

Film buffs Mike Grant, 56, and daughter, Rachael, 26, were stunned when they came across the historic reels.

Their interest was sparked after spotting two 16mm film reels placed next to a 1950s' paint tin, which was wedged behind a cupboard.

They found a further ten old 35mm and 16mm films dating back to 1909, including a copy of The Cardboard Lover, one of just two remaining copies in the world.

The MGM movie starred Marion Davies, a famous actress of the time.

The rest are a variety of feature films and shorts, ranging roughly from 1909 to 1913, and include films from France, Italy, India, America and the UK.

Mr Grant approached the staff at the recycling centre to purchase the tin and its contents, and was amazed when they wanted just £10.

They are now going to donate them to the British Film Institute.

Mr Grant, a factory worker from Chard, Somerset, said: 'I have always been interested in old film and television, and regularly go to look in the recycling centre, when I'm in the area. We couldn't believe what we found.

'It was a real find, it's the biggest thing I have ever found, not the sort of thing you expect to see - especially at a tip.

'You hear about missing Doctor Who episodes and that sort of thing, but this is much rarer, and much older.

'The films come from all over the world, including France, Italy, India, America and one from the UK.

'It's a mystery where they came from. We are trying to piece together who they belonged to.

'There are a lot of retired people in that area, so I presume that someone was having a house clearance and skipped the whole lot.

'It's a bit sad to think that there might have been others that we missed, and they ended up in land fill, but at least we found some of them.

'We only paid £10 for them, but on the private market it would be difficult to guess what they would be worth - it could be quite a bit of money.'

After buying the collection, they took them home and began researching exactly what they had found.

Only some of the tins were labelled, so the identity of others remains a mystery - but with the help of internet forums, they have been able to identify a few.

Included in the collection are an Italian film called Il Guanto from 1910, a French film called Jane Is Unwilling To Work, from 1909, and one reel of the 1928 film The Cardboard Lover.

Intrigued by The Cardboard Lover, Rachael, a copywriter who lives with her father, and mother Marina, 54, carried out further research.

She discovered that only one other copy remained - in the Library of Congress in Washington - but that copy was heavily damaged.

After further research, the family have been informed that their version is in a better condition.

Rachael said: 'The Cardboard Lover is a great find, but we only have one reel of that film.

'It was a feature film, so would have come on six or seven reels.

'It's a bit of a shame we don't have all of them but, with a find like that, you don't get upset you don't have them all - you are glad you even got one.

'When we found them, we couldn't believe what we were seeing.

'It's difficult to express how rare it is to find 35mm films. Because the films are made of nitrate, they are highly unstable, and you often hear about whole archives burning to the ground because nitrate film is self-combustible.

'It's miraculous that they survived. Some of the films are in great condition, but some aren't so good. One of them has decomposed almost completely, which is a shame.

'But still, it's the find of a lifetime. We have contacted the British Film Institute, and will be loaning the films to them.

'One of them was an American film from 1910, by Independent Motion Pictures.We could tell because the IMP logo was visible in the film.

'It has been speculated that the actors in the film are King Biggott and Florence Lawrence, one of the first stars of film to be promoted as a star in her own right.

'The BFI archive is the best place for them. They have a specialist archive for nitrate film, so they will be quite safe.

'We are not asking for any money. Our main priority is to see the films looked after and properly identified.

'I would also love to see the films. We don't have the equipment to play them, so it would be great if the BFI could invite us round to watch the films one day.'

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