Pentecost, Arthur Collection

SummaryThe Arthur Pentecost Collection contains 21 reels of amateur 16 mm. film and 3 reels of commercial film. Primarily shot by Arthur Pentecost, the film shows his family at home in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, and on annual trips to Europe. The footage of trips to Europe is divided between sightseeing shots of London and other European cities, and family-centered footage at the Pentecost family home in Nottingham. The street scenes of European cities are of particular interest for their view of daily life, buildings, and architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. The collection also includes a significant amount of footage of the ocean liners on which the family traveled to Europe. Frequent shots of trains, bridges, and boats demonstrate Pentecost's evident interest in engineering and mechanics. Three reels of film focus exclusively on machinery, and may depict Pentecost's inventions for Remington Rand or the Wales Adding Machine Co.

Biographical/Historical NotesArthur Pentecost was born in Nottingham, England in 1875. The Pentecost family were owners of textile factories all over the world. Pentecost moved to the United States around 1905. He trained as an engineer and worked for the Wales Adding Machine Company and Remington Rand. Pentecost kept machine tools in his basement workshop and received patents for computational machines and printer improvements. Pentecost married Emma Rae Sneed, who had her son, Howell Cicero Sneed, with her first husband. Howell Sneed married Rita Ann Thoubboron, and had a son, William Arthur Sneed, Sr. in 1920. After the couple's divorce, Rita Thoubboron Sneed and her son continued to live in Upper Montclair, New Jersey with Arthur Pentecost. They traveled annually to England to visit family at Wilford Grange, the Pentecost family home in Nottingham. Pentecost loved the ocean journeys to Europe, and had an avid interest in ocean liners and steamships. Remington Rand was formed by the merger of the Remington Typewriter Company, Rand Kardex Company, and Powers Accounting Machine Company in 1927. From its inception until 1958, it was led by founder James Rand, Jr.

RepositoryNortheast Historic Film

AvailabilityThe Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and UseAuthorization to reuse and/or reproduce must be obtained from Northeast Historic Film. See http://oldfilm.org/content/stock-footage-licensing for more information.