Charles and Katharine Bowden Collection
Inclusive Dates
1903 – 1904
Bulk Dates
1903 – 1904
Preservation Sponsor
Abstract
This collection contains the preserved and restored archival materials from 7 original 35mm nitrate reels, which contain 8 distinct rolls or "views" of THE PICTORIAL STORY OF HIAWATHA, a live pageant performed in Desbarats, Ontario by the Garden River Ojibway community in 1902 - 1903. Katharine and Charles Bowden filmed this pageant so they could screen the moving images as part of their Chautauqua Lecture Circuit presentation of the same name. The reels were discovered in the Valparaiso University Special Collections Library by Judith Miller. Clearly there are reels of the pageant that are missing.
Description
In the summer of 1903, the husband and wife lecture team of Katharine and Charles Bowden travelled from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan down the St. Mary’s River to a little jut of land then called Kensington Point, Ontario. Only a few miles south of the Canadian Pacific Railway stop at Desbarats, the Point was the site of a theatrical adaptation of Longfellow’s famous poem The Song of Hiawatha. Actors from the Garden River First Nation staged the play for the benefit of American and Canadian tourists as a way to increase ridership on the railway. The poem was then in a cycle of popular revival across the country. Situated close to the Ojibwe communities whose stories inspired Longfellow, the performance at Desbarats was promoted as the most authentic version.
The Bowdens organized the films and photographs they took on that trip into a two-hour performance called A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha, From the spring of 1904 until 1910, the Bowdens presented the lecture in over twenty states to tens of thousands of spectators at small town opera halls, churches, school auditoriums, and under the expansive tents raised for summer Chautauquas. With Katharine regaling the audience from the stage, Charles operated the dual film/slide projector from amongst the crowd. In their illustrated lecture the region around the Soo and Desbarats was as much of a draw as the Hiawatha play. They discussed the technological wonders of the locks, displayed the thrills of the rapids on St. Mary’s River, recounted the history of the region and its relation to Longfellow’s poem, and in addition to the play, presented the outdoor entertainments at the Kensington Point.
The Bowdens organized the films and photographs they took on that trip into a two-hour performance called A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha, From the spring of 1904 until 1910, the Bowdens presented the lecture in over twenty states to tens of thousands of spectators at small town opera halls, churches, school auditoriums, and under the expansive tents raised for summer Chautauquas. With Katharine regaling the audience from the stage, Charles operated the dual film/slide projector from amongst the crowd. In their illustrated lecture the region around the Soo and Desbarats was as much of a draw as the Hiawatha play. They discussed the technological wonders of the locks, displayed the thrills of the rapids on St. Mary’s River, recounted the history of the region and its relation to Longfellow’s poem, and in addition to the play, presented the outdoor entertainments at the Kensington Point.
Collection Items
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 1/8 (Peace Pipe)
-
A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 2/8 (Hiawatha Learning to Shoot)
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 3/8 (Off to Dakota)
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 4/8 (Canoes Song)
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 5/8 (Maidens Dance)
-
A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 6/8 (Bridal Dance)
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 7/8 (Gambling)
- A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha: Roll 8/8 (Departure)
Collection Identifier
C.2010-04
Extent of Collection
Elements including 8 35mm answer print rolls or "views", a 35mm optical internegative, a 35mm dupe negative and a digi-betacam tape
Language Of Materials
English
Subject
Custodial History
Original nitrate footage remains at Valparaiso University's Special Collections under the care of Judy Miller. CFA guided the preservation of the 7 rolls of film and currently owns and cares for the preservation materials.
Related Materials
Katharine Ertz-Bowden Collection at Valparaiso University Special Collections.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only video copies will be provided for on-site viewing.
Use Restrictions
Public Domain; no restrictions
Creators
Ertz-Bowden, Katharine
(was created by)
Katharine Ertz-Bowden was born September 20, 1876 in rural Annawan, Illinois located 140 miles west-southwest of Chicago. She attended Annawan public schools and taught the 1894-95 year in a country school in Henry County, Illinois. In 1897 she earned a Diploma in Public Speaking with a BA in Science from Valparaiso University. In 1900 she married fellow graduate Charles L. Bowden, who had been an “expert photographer with Eastman Kodak.” After retiring from "entertainment” in 1910, Ertz-Bowden returned to Valparaiso University, working there as a librarian, associate professor and archivist. She passed away in 1965, leaving a collection of lantern slides, pamphlets, newspaper articles and 35mm film at the university.
Bowden, Charles
(was created by)
Charles Leonard Bowden (November 9, 1865—October 4, 1941) worked with his wife Katharine as illustrated lecturers from 1899 to 1909. Bowden was born in upstate New York but was raised near Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. After high school Bowden worked as an apprentice at a local photography studio. From approximately 1890 through 1896, Bowden worked for Eastman Kodak. The exact work he did for Kodak is unknown though he travelled the west coast for the company in some capacity. From 1896 through 1897 he attended Valparaiso University where he graduated with a Pharmacy degree. During this time he met his future wife Katharine Ertz and supposedly presented the first moving picture screening in Valparaiso, Indiana. From 1897 through 1898 he was employed at a photography studio in Evanston, Illinois. At some point in 1898 he began assisting an unnamed lecturer as the operator of a dual stereopticon slide/moving picture projector. In 1899 he and Katharine teamed up as illustrated lecturers and the couple traveled along the Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits with their version of the Passion Play called alternately Christ in Art or A Trip to Oberammergau. In the summer of 1900 he and Katharine were married and for their honeymoon the newlyweds travelled to Europe to attend the Paris Exposition and the Oberammergau. In 1904 they started presenting their second lecture which was based on Henry Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha. Called A Pictorial Story of Hiawatha, the Bowden's performance combined a travelogue around the Soo Locks at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan with films and photos of a live version of Longfellow's poem enacted by local Ojibwe. They continued to present their Passion Play and Hiawatha lectures until they retired from the profession around 1910. Bowden then worked as an engineer for automobile companies, where he specialized on engine performance and more aerodynamic car designs.