Archival Rediscovery and the Production of History: Solving the Mystery of Something Good—Negro Kiss (1898)

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In 2017, the film archivist at the University of Southern California rediscovered a nitrate print from circa 1900 of an African American couple laughing and repeatedly embracing in a naturalistic and joyful manner—a striking departure from the racist caricatures prevalent in early cinema. In this essay, I trace the process of identifying the film as Something Good—Negro Kiss, made in Chicago in 1898 by William Selig with vaudeville performers Saint Suttle and Gertie Brown. Moving from technological artifacts to theatrical history, I argue that the film's rediscovery serves as a case study of the procedure of identifying films and of ascribing historical meaning to early film artifacts, especially around African American subjects.