Rereading the decline of the illustrated song : three
crisis discourses in moving picture world, 1908
Historians have well documented the decline of illustrated songs in nickelodeons in the United States from 1909 to 1913. In this article, a close examination of the 1907 and 1908 issues of Moving Picture World shows that several crises occurred before 1909 that help us understand this decline. Here I examine three main crises: the structural crisis of free music, the economic and aesthetic crisis of piracy, and the legal dispute over exclusive illustration rights.
Illustrated song Lantern slides Lantern industry Magic lantern Moving Picture World Music industry Piracy