Original Sepia Snapshot of the First Modern Film Studio Known as Inceville
1922
by SILENT FILM HISTORY
4 3/4” x 2 5/8”, 1922. An original sepia toned photograph of a film location known as Inceville, named after Thomas H. Ince, head of silent film studio, Bison Pictures. The photo shows a set location including various buildings and what appears to be an English Tudor style house with a bare hill in the background. Written on the verso in an unknown hand: “Inceville, now the junction of Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway. Dec. 25, 1922.” Fine condition. Thomas Harper Ince (1882 - 1924) was a silent film actor, director, screenwriter and innovative producer of more than 100 films. He earned the reputation as the ‘Father of the Western’ and is credited with inventing many production techniques including the assembly line system of filmmaking. Inceville was sold it to William S. Hart who renamed it Hartville and then Hart sold the lot to Robertson-Cole, which continued making films until 1922. La Hue writes that, "the place was virtually a ghost town when the last remnants of Inceville were burned on the Fourth of July in 1922, leaving only a weatherworn old church, which stood sentinel over the charred ruins. (Inventory #: 18555E)