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We’ve probably all seen them at yard and estate sales: those little tins of home movies: slightly jiggly, usually silent, and mostly BC (before color). Most of us have passed them up without a second look. Well, there may be more than memories attached to those old 8mm, Super8, and 16mm home movies: there may be dollars in that celluloid!
When people think “home movies,” they don’t imagine that anyone outside their family could possibly be interested in watching little Emily play with Spot in the yard, or darling Jeff make faces at the camera. And they’re right! But place the family in some now long-gone or altered locale and those home movies could suddenly be in demand.
Take the 1939 New York World’s Fair as an example. There are a lot of collectors of world’s fair memorabilia. Well, someone apparently visited the ’39 fair with their 16mm home movie camera and managed to splice together two 2 1/2 minute reels of “highlights”. Guess what? Those reels recently sold on eBay for $227.50 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1521246411) and for $306.00 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1521247716)!
And how about those 3 reels of 16mm home movies of Hawaii in the late 1950’s that closed for $104.00? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1517440384
Or the 3 reels of 8mm film of 1950’s Texas high school football games that someone had to have for $51.02? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1077007605
Of course, not all home movies auctioned have garnered comparable prices, with many being in the $10 to $20 range, but even those prices might be worth the investment of a few dollars at an estate sale. Many people place more value in their family’s photo albums and are often glad to dispose of “obsolete” materials, such as home films, for very little.
And you never know what you might find in a carton of film tins. Just as eclectic as any group of collectors, subjects can range from a 1931 wedding ($60.00,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1517681252) to a group of black children at church ($50.00, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1517268334).
So, the next time you find an old home movie, look beyond the faces. You might discover that the time and place are of equal or greater importance. For example, there is a huge cadre of enthusiasts devoted to ocean liner memorabilia who would give their eyeteeth for old home footage aboard ships such as Leviathan or the SS United States. (Believe it or not, there were many liners other than the RMS Titanic!) So if you ever find a film tin labeled “Voyaging to Europe,” you know what to do with it: AUCTION!
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