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1914 Lubin vault fire

1900s lost films1910s in Philadelphia1914 disasters in the United States1914 fires in the United States1914 in Pennsylvania
1914 in filmBuilding and structure fires in the United StatesFires in PennsylvaniaJune 1914 eventsLubin Manufacturing CompanyPages containing links to subscription-only contentUse mdy dates from October 2021Warehouse fires
Lubin employees surveying destruction of film vault, June 1914
Lubin employees surveying destruction of film vault, June 1914

On the morning of June 13, 1914, a disastrous fire and a series of related explosions occurred in the main film vault of the Lubin Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Several possible causes for the blaze were cited at the time, one being "spontaneous combustion" of highly flammable nitrate film, which was the motion picture industry's standard medium for cameras throughout the silent era and for the first two decades of "talking pictures". Millions of feet of film were consumed in the flames, including most of the master negatives and initial prints of Lubin's pre-1914 catalog, several of the company's recently completed theatrical prints ready for release and distribution, a considerable number of films produced by other studios, inventories of raw and stock footage, hundreds of reels documenting historic events that occurred between 1897 and early 1914, as well as other films related to notable political and military figures, innovations in medical science, and professional athletic contests from that period. While this fire was not a decisive factor in Lubin's decline and bankruptcy by September 1916, costs associated with the disaster only added to the corporation's mounting debts, which led to the closure or sale of its remaining operations the following year.

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1914 Lubin vault fire
West Indiana Avenue, Philadelphia

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N 39.999722222222 ° E -75.162222222222 °
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West Indiana Avenue 1914
19132 Philadelphia
Pennsylvania, United States
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Lubin employees surveying destruction of film vault, June 1914
Lubin employees surveying destruction of film vault, June 1914
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