Barnes, Bill (William), 1920 - 2019
Biography
William 'Bill' Barnes was a renowned film history and collector, who together with his twin brother John (1920-2008), amassed one of the finest collections of early British cinema in the country.
Bill and John became fascinated with cinema from an early age. When they were twelve years old they had a home cine projector and soon after, still in their teen years, they started to make their own films and documentaries. Examples of the titles they created together are Cornish Nets and With the Gypsies in Kent.
Bill and John started to collect cinema material in the 1930s. The brothers served together in the Royal Navy during WWII. At the end of the war, they became specialist booksellers of cinema and pre-cinema material.
The brothers opened the Barnes Museum of Cinematography in St Ives in 1936. John managed the collection while Bill continued to build up the collection visiting fairs, markets and auctions around the country. At this time Bill was working as a Film Production Consultant in London, where he used to visit markets and antique shops. The museum closed in 1986 and the collection was split between the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin and Hove Museum. Eventually, Bill started to run his own stall in Chelsea antiques market selling optical toys, lantern slides and photo cine items. John, who remained in Cornwall all his life, died in 2008. The brothers had always been very close and Bill felt a great loss.
Bill became a leading authority on many aspects of the optical media that preceded cinema and in particular of the early years of cinema itself.
John and Bill wrote extensively on early cinema history, John was known for The Beginnings of Cinema in Britain series and Bill for his articles on The Magic Lantern journal among others.
Bill and John received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stirling in 2006 and the Jean Mitry Prize.
Found in 286 Collections and/or Records:
The Holborn Empire Programme, 19 February 1906
Black type on light brown background with floral illustration and illustration of theatre stage on the front cover, inside commercial advertising and programme listing Fred Karno's Company, Jail Birds, The Mezzettis, J.P. Ling, Jordan & Harvey, Tom Costello, The Poluski Brothers, The Carlyles, Gladys Mavius, Virginia & Piccaninnies, The Tramp's Dream on the bioscope, Miss Camilla Dalberg & Co., and sheet music for I Want to Get Away Back Home song, 4p.p.
The Last Days of Pompeii Programme, 1913
Colour illustration in red, orange and black of erupting volcano and red type on the front cover, inside description of scenes and black and white photographs, 8p.p.
The Last Days of Pompeii Programme, 1913
Black type and illustration of ruins in the centre on the front cover, inside description of scenes and black and white photographs, on back cover list of Central Hall Circuit, 8p.p.
The Magic of Music Hall Programme, 24 - 25 October 2015
Wilton's Music Hall. Blue, red and white and blue type on off white background, containing programme and a children's activity on reverse, 4p.p folded
The Metropolitan Programme, 26 March 1898
The Metropolitan Programme, 1 January 1898
The Norwich Hippodrome Programme, 10 October 1910
Three fold programme containing colour illustrations of various circus acts, a woman plaing a hand held harp and a woman dancing on the front over a red background and programme inside in green type on off white background listing Fred Karno's company, The Bodina Trio, Little Dando, Mdlle. Haydee, Chas. J. Lever, Animated Pictures and Bros. Andreasen. Also contains commercial advertisement.
The Norwich Hippodrome Programme, 7 November 1910
Three fold programme containing colour illustrations of various circus acts on the front over a green background, inside programme in green type on off white background listing Calude Ginnett's original Rejected Remounts, The Dandys, Leonse, Mabel Kempton, Henry Kaiser, Morny Cash, The Tree Sisters, Anderson, Minnie Moran, Coram, Animated Pictures and British Quartette. Also contains commercial advertisements.
The Norwich Hippodrome Programme, 3 October 1910
Three fold programme containing colour illustrations of various circus acts, a woman playing a hand held harp and a woman dancing on the front over a red background and programme inside in green type on off white background listing Burke, Andrus and Frisco, Beanland & Bath, Geo. Antill, Ray & Calden, Kardoc, The Haywards, The Llewelyns, Muir & Bartlett, The Mezettis, Animated Pictures and The Bros. Bellong. Contains Commercial advertisements.
The Oxford Programme, 1 October 1897
The Oxford Programme, 19 March 1898
The Oxford Programme, 14 March 1910
The Oxford Programme, 10 June 1912
The Palace Programme, August 1908
The Palace Programme, 3 August 1903
Black type on yellow background, listing programme of dances, Hubner's Animatograph, Ernest Shand, Sandford & Lyons, The Bros. Artois, Nellie Stratton, The Norman Leonard Trio, Lelia Roze, Mr Edward Terry and the London Company.
The Palace Programme, c1903
Black type on green background listing Mr Harry Wood's Grand Orchestra, The American Biograph, The Salambos, W. Edward Kaye, Alcide Capitaine, Binns and Binns, Olivette, Jimson's Animal Circus and Mr George Edwardes' Company. Printed by Brown & Sons Ltd, Printers, Douglas.
The Palace Theatre of Varieties Programme, 6 July 1895
Elsa May, Will Crackles, Miss Rose Dearing, J.C. Harrington, La Belle Rose, The Tiller Troupe, Clara Wieland, R.H. Douglass, Cissie Loftus, O'Brien and Redding, Miss Lottie Collins, John Le Hay, Tableaux Vivants. Three fold programme with red, gold and blue type and colour illustration of a women dancing, lifting the sides of her skirt in the centre, on the sides colour illstrations of a building exterior and interior, inside programme and commercial advertising.
The Palace Theatre of Variety Programme, c1900 - 1910
Colour illustration of woman dancing on the front, on the back black and light green type on white and light green background and programme listing Buck Dance, John E. Coyle, J. Gillan, Norman and Leonard Trio, Maidie Scott, Eadie and Ramsden, Daisy Dormer, Howard and Harris, The Palace Girls, Carlton, Homer B. Mason and Marguerite Keeler, The Merry Wives of Windson, Jack Lorimer, Miss Marie Tempest, Malcolm Scott and The Bioscope.
The Palace Theatre of Variety Programme, 10 May 1911
Three fold programme with colour illustration of theatre scene covering the outside and programme inside listing Miss Ivy Aberdare, Miss Lily Hayes, Will Van Allen, Miss Ouida McDermott, Signorina Irene Penso, Carlton, The McBans, Albert Whelan, The Yamagata Troupe, Miss Margaret Cooper, Anna Pavlova and Michael Mordkin and The Palace Bioscope. Black and red type on white background with commercial advertising including songs by Vesta Tilley.
The Palace Theatre of Variety Programme, 27 March 1897
Three fold programme with black illustration of a woman dancing, illustration of interior and exterior views of the building and a female performer on the outside, on the inside programme listing Charles B. Kay, The Glenroy Troupe, Les Edoardos, G.W. Hunter, Sdie Jerome, Pablo Diaz, Miss Lilian Tree, Les Gardenias, Dutch Daly, The American Biograph, John Hewelt's automatic theatre and Mlle. Diane de Fontenoy. Contains commercial advertisment.
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- Type
- Archival Object 285
- Collection 1
- Subject
- Acrobats 7
- Aerialists 5
- Anglo-Afghan Wars 10
- Anglo-Burmese War, 3rd, 1885 4
- Anglo-Egyptian War, 1882 33
- Animal trainers 3
- Animals 17
- Circus 7
- Clowning 9
- Comedians 31
- Contortionists 1
- Dance 4
- Dwarfs (Persons) 3
- Equestrians 3
- Exhibitions 10
- Fairs 3
- Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871 3
- Gymnasts 7
- Jugglers 7
- Magic 18
- Male impersonators 7
- Minstrel shows 20
- Motion pictures 177
- Music-halls 62
- Musical performances 73
- Musicians 3
- Optical illusions 128
- Pantomime 8
- Performers 135
- Pierrot 4
- Puppets 5
- Showman 109
- Showwoman 1
- Sideshows 3
- Singing 39
- South African War, 1899-1902 12
- Stunt performers 4
- Tableaux vivants 7
- Travel 63
- Variety 165
- Ventriloquists 22
- War 52
- World War, 1914-1918 5
- Zulu War, 1879 9 + ∧ less