Title: ‘Literature of Attractions’: Jack London and Early Cinema
Abstract: In 1902, Jack London penned a hurried letter to his lover, Anna Strunsky. It began with an apology: 'I had intended to write you a good long letter for yourself, but people have come, must shave now or never and have some toning to do in dark room'.1 The fact that London mentioned working in the darkroom alongside routine activities like entertaining guests and shaving indicates that he was regularly developing and toning images by 1902.2 As this chapter will show, he was not content simply to record naturalistic 'human documents', but would manipulate his images for artistic effect. Between 1902 and 1905, when he was still relatively new to photography, London worked to create several multiple-negative images. Some of these, from his stint as a photojournalist in Korea during the 1905 Japanese-Russian War, are held in the Huntingdon Library in San Marino, California.3 In addition to photography, he also had an intimate and well-documented relationship with moving pictures. Robert Birchard speculates that London's first direct encounter occurred as early as 1907, when the Kalem Film Company made a one-reel adaption of The Sea-Wolf.4 In 1908, London was asked to play the role of a plantation owner in a film produced by Pathé.5 Later that same year, he and his wife Charmian hosted a dinner for the representatives of three different cinematograph companies.6 Whether they wished to adapt London's work or to ask him to perform in front of the camera, or perhaps both, is unknown.7
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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