Again I find pleasant occasion to quote from the New York World- this time from the evening edition. From a leading editorial entitled “Posing for Posterity” I select the following excellent extracts:
Moving Pictures of the burial of the battleship Maine, which took place March 16 th, have arrives in this city and are being shown to the public. Wonderful vividness the Moving Pictures promises to lend to History! The preservation of films of special public interest begins to be already a metter for the Government to consider. There is n reason why our grandchildren and great-grandchildren a hundred years hence should not see faithful reproductions of Mr. Taft signing the Statehood Bill for Arizona and New Mexico, the Durbar of King George V, and even more important events. What would we not give to-day for a Moving Picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence? Or of Washington taking leave of is officers? Or Lincoln at Gettysburg? Is it not, after all, our duty carefully to record and preserve as archives such Moving Pictures of contemporary scenes and public persons as may have first-rate interest to posterity? Will not cities, libraries and schools all over the world desire such records?
And this prompts the question: What are we doing to preserve all these historically important film that are being made every day? If the manufacturers do not get together and preserve these prints and the negatives, the preservation of these films will become a public charge.
The Photoplay Philosopher (The Motion Picture Story Magazine, August 1912)
sempre in penombra 
It’s interesting that even pioneers in the film business were aware of the importance of film preservation. Quite ahead of their time in this topic. Thanks for the post.
Almost simultaneously in France and Italy are talking about creating a museum of the film, but nobody does anything. Without forgetting Boleslas Matuszewski.