An authoritative and much-needed overview of the main issues in the field of early cinema from over 30 leading international scholars in the field

• First collection of its kind to offer in one reference: original theory, new research, and reviews of existing studies in the field
• Features over 30 original essays from some of the leading scholars in early cinema and Film Studies, including Tom Gunning, Jane Gaines, Richard Abel, Thomas Elsaesser, and André Gaudreault
• Caters to renewed interest in film studies’ historical methods, with strict analysis of multiple and competing sources, providing a critical re-contextualization of films, printed material and technologies
• Covers a range of topics in early cinema, such as exhibition, promotion, industry, pre-cinema, and film criticism
• Broaches the latest research on the subject of archival practices, important particularly in the current digital context