Pennsylvania Man Donates His Great-Grandfather’s Silent Films, Unveiling Historic Treasure
A man from Pennsylvania, Bill McFarland, had long been trying to find a new home for his great-grandfather’s collection of old silent films. After many attempts, it was finally revealed that the final known copy of the first science fiction film in history was stored at the Library of Congress.
For years, McFarland lugged two dusty trunks filled with his great-grandfather’s films to various antique shops, museums, and even listed them on eBay. Unfortunately, no one seemed interested until a film digitization company recognized their potential and connected him with the Library of Congress.
Archivists at the library eagerly accepted the contents of the donated trunks and discovered something remarkable inside: a copy of an 1897 film titled “Automatons and Automatons.” This 56-second movie is believed to be the last known original of what many consider the first science fiction film ever created.
The films belonged to McFarland’s great-grandfather, William Delisle Frisbee, who was known as “Professor Frisbee.” He spent around thirty years as a traveling entertainer, performing at rural schools and churches in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio during the late 1800s.
Frisbee’s traveling kit included hand-painted glass magic lantern slides and an Edison phonograph, along with silent films on nitrate film. McFarland learned that this type of film was extremely risky, as it could ignite and burn, even when underwater.
After years of storage, McFarland sought to find a proper home for the trunks. His friend, Dan Sorensen, assisted him in searching through antique shops, museums, and online forums, but it wasn’t until the Library of Congress recognized the collection’s significance that it finally found a new home.
Now, the William Delisle Frisbee Collection, which includes 42 films, is stored in temperature-controlled conditions on the Packard campus in Virginia. This facility, originally constructed as a Cold War-era bunker for the Federal Reserve Bank, has been converted into a state-of-the-art film storage space before being donated to the government.
