The Archive

Roy Herbert Branch Collection

Roy and Kathleen Branch shot these films at their home in Lake Meadows. The collection includes shots of their daughter Elizabeth and several family Christmases. Super 8mm. Sound. 1970s-1980s. 7 films.

Buford Family Collection

Shirley Jones and her sisters shot these films of the Buford family around their Englewood home. The collection features a wedding and several family parties, and also includes films shot during their time stationed in Okinawa, Japan. 8mm, Super 8mm. Silent. 1950-1970. 18 films.

Burt Ramos Family Collection

This collection includes home movies shot primarily by Louise B. Burt. They depict scenes of everyday life in Chicago, Illinois as well as family visits to Momence, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Baldwin, Michigan. 8mm. 1958-1968. 3 films.

Alphonse and Nancie Teer Ellis Family Collection

Alphonse and Nancy Ellis shot these films in and around their Auburn Gresham home. The collection also includes a trip to Disneyland, Washington D.C. and visits to the family cottage in Lakeside, Michigan. Super 8mm. Silent. 1960-1970. 40 films.

Levy-Gunansky Family Collection

Sam Levy and his daughter Harriet shot these films to document their family’s life in the Washington Park neighborhood and later the Jackson Park Highlands. It includes scenes from Englewood High School, several club picnics in Washington Park, and Harriet’s time as a student at University of Chicago (1948-1952). 8mm. Silent. 1938-1955. 15 films.

Sylvester Matthews Collection

Dr. Helen Nash Collection

Dr. Helen Nash shot these scenes of family life in Atlanta, Georgia and St. Louis, Missouri, as well as trips to Chicago to visit relatives. Dr. Nash also traveled extensively with her sisters and mother, visiting Europe, China, Russia, and Africa in the late sixties and seventies. 16mm, Super 8mm. Silent. 1950-1970. 23 films.

Dr. Homer Nash Jr. Collection

The younger brother of Dr. Helen Nash, Homer Nash shot these films of his five daughters growing up in their St. Louis home. 8mm. Silent. 1950-1984. 11 films.

Nicholas Osborn Collection

Nicholas Osborn contributed this reel that he found in a thrift shop. It consists of a year in Chicago in 1963 and includes such historic events as the Bud Biliken parade, the NAACP annual convention and the 1963 Public School boycott. 8mm. Silent. 1963. 1 film.

Jean Patton Collection

The Jean Patton collection was shot by both Jean Patton and her husband Robert and documents family life in Chatham and their extensive travels overseas. Consisting of over 100 reels Jean and her husband visited China, Japan, Europe and the Caribbean and documented nearly 20 years of family celebrations and events. 16mm, 8mm, Super-8. Silent. 1940-1970. 100 films.

The Matilda Jablonski Puszkiewicz Collection

Matilda Puszkiewicz (née Jablonski) shot these films of her family and surrounding Polish Catholic community in South Chicago and on several national and international vacations. The collection features footage of her children Patricia, Judith, and Jack as they grew up, as well as trips to California and Europe. 8mm. Silent. 1947-1960s. 25 films.

Roberts Family Collection

This collection was shot primarily by Herman Roberts, his family and the staff of the Roberts Show Lounge. The films capture South Side nightlife from Englewood to Hyde Park, the Roberts Show Lounge in the '50s, rural Oklahoma, and Disneyland. 8mm, 16mm. Silent. 1950s. 34 films.

Ramon Williams Collection

Ramon Williams shot and created these films throughout Chicago and the American South. The collection features a number of historical figures and events, including Haile Selassie’s arrival in Chicago, Althea Gibson’s landmark US Nationals win, and several Bud Billiken parades. 8mm, 16mm. Sound, Silent. 1943-1975. 161 films.