Look Who it Was Random video

Earliest Movie Star 1910s Mary Pickford Theda Bara Lillian Gish Edwardian Hair and Clothing

4,451 views · Published 31 March 2013 · 5:50 · Indexed 22 October 2026

Channel: creamofcardstv · 2013 · Film & Animation

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Who was the first movie star? Was it Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, Max Linder...? It depends on how you define it. Prior to 1910, movie actors were not credited in their own right and that's why you rarely see the actors' names mentioned on posters or other promotional material. The movie studios were reluctant to give too much publicity and power to their actors for fear that they would demand more money. 

An astute Florence Lawrence made history when she agreed to join a movie studio on the proviso that her name be included in the publicity campaign.

More than 70% of the original silent movie reels have long since crumbled away so it's important that related ephemera is preserved so that we can form an accurate picture of one of the most important times in the history of mankind, the age of mass media. Trade cards are perfect if you're interested in Edwardian hair and clothing.

Series Title: Cinema Stars
Issuer: Anonymous
Issue Year: between 1914-1918
Includes (some names are difficult to make out because of the printed handwriting): 
Alice Joyce, Mary McAllister, Anita Stewart, Myrtle Stedman, William Russell, Earl Williams, Edna Goodrich, Francis X Bushman, Theda Bara, Arlene Pretty, Lillian Gish, Robert Warwick, Pauline Frederick, Beverly Bayne, Alice Brady, Jane Novak, Gertrude McCoy, Cleo Ridgley, Grace Cunard, Ann Murdock, Jackie Saunders, Mary Miles Minter, Augusta Anderson, Marguerite Clark, Baby Marie Osborne, Kitty Gordon, Adele DeGarde, Kathlyn Williams, May Allison, Helen Holmes, Clara Kimball Young, Louise Huff, Fannie Ward, Marguerite Clayton, Agnes Ayres, Virginia Pearson, Billie Burke, Emily Stevens, Jack Pickford, William Farnum, Stuart Holmes, George Walsh, King Baggot, Dustin Farnum, Norma Talmadge, Bryant Washburn, Owen Moore

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