July 20, 2011

Lost and Found Films: ‘Palo Alto Home,’ circa 1959

Its 1959 and an older woman sits comfortably in a garden admiring what looks to be a book about cats. Thats how this weeks Lost and Found Film begins. Its titled Palo Alto Home.

A younger woman then sweeps in with an air of festivity and sits alongside her with a scrapbook. The two happily leaf through the larger book together, and this continues for a minute or so. Is this an actress daughter reminiscing with her mother?

Then an older man arrives and sweeps the younger woman into his arms for a hug and kiss as he waves his hat hello. The two smile at the camera, he waves. The film ends with a brief scene of the younger woman contentedly taking laundry off a line. And that ends this weeks three-minute mystery film.

This is one of hundreds of reels of film that Hannah Palin, film archives specialist with UW Libraries Special Collections, is trying to identify for archiving purposes. She has film clips from the late 1940s through the 1970s — some from research projects, some from campus events and some from commercial films or original productions.

Palin would like to know who these people are, and whether they have any connection to the University of Washington.

If you can answer these questions or provide any other information about the film, please write your comment below. When UW Today presented earlier films from Special Collections, readers provided important information, and Palin hopes shell get a similar response now.

Some previous Lost and Found Films:

June 30: Campus Color, circa 1940-48

July 6, Research at Sea

July 14: Aberdeen Gathering