It's the early 20th century and you have five cents to spare, so you go to the nickelodeon to check out the latest motion picture. Chances are one of the stars of the show is a horse.
The argument could be made that the earliest movie star was a horse: that of Eadweard Muybridge's famous images of a trotting horse, named Abe Edgington, galloping in 1878. The following year, Muybridge invented the zoopraxiscope (see how it works here) to view these series of photographs in motion thus creating the first "motion picture" and quieting the naysayers, who accused him of faking the images.
A copy of one of Muybridge's experiments is in the NSLM's Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photograph Collection and has been featured in a few of our exhibitions, including 2017's The Horse and The Camera and most recently, 2021's anniversary exhibition, A Decade Afield. Click here to read more about that groundbreaking first session.
Eadweard Muybridge (English, 1830–1904), Horse and Rider, c. 1890, collotype, 19 x 24 ⅛ inches, National Sporting Library & Museum, Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection, 2018
Muybridge's zoopraxiscope directly inspired Thomas Edison and his kinetoscope, which allowed one person at a time to watch a short film through a viewer. In 1894, one of the first shorts Edison showed in his Kinetograph Parlor was Bucking Bronco starring the handsome horse Sunfish and his cowboy, Lee Martin, at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. You can click here to see that film. Buffalo Bill would make his own film appearance for Edison the next year.
A San Francisco Kinetoscope parlor, c. 1894–95. Wikipedia.
The Great Train Robbery from 1903 was an immensely popular short film that introduced themes and images that would become the genre's standard for generations, particularly that most important of all Westerns: the chase scene. "Men pursuing each other on horseback firing guns as they race across various terrains" is integral to almost any Western movie or TV show, including The Lone Ranger.
"The Posse in Pursuit," The Great Train Robbery, 1903. Wikipedia.
First appearing on radio in 1933 was Silver and his rider, The Lone Ranger. Alongside Scout with Tonto astride, the quartet fought injustices and saved the day throughout the West. At a time when there was a plethora of Westerns on radio and screen—Hopalong Cassidy, The Gene Autry Show, and The Roy Rogers Show—few horses were more popular than Silver, the "fiery horse with the speed of light."
In a 1938 radio episode, "The Legend of Silver," we learn that The Lone Ranger saved the injured wild horse from a buffalo. As a sign of appreciation and esteem, he becomes the equine companion for the masked lawman. He is dubbed "Silver" after Tonto declared that the horse's coat appeared "silver white."
The Lone Ranger radio program, Radio Hall of Fame
The Lone Ranger extended into an entire franchise with serial books, television shows, and movies. The ever-popular Silver even had his own comic book.
Silver's own comic book! My Comic Shop.
This photograph from the Tartt Collection shows the heroic Silver and The Lone Ranger in their iconic pose as they save the day.
The Lone Ranger, photograph, 20th century, 9 ⅛ x 7 ½ inches, National Sporting Library & Museum, Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection, 2018
Horses did not just dominate the Western genre at the time. Popular films like National Velvet (1944), Black Beauty (1946), and Gallant Bess (1947) proved there was a broad audience that queued up to see horses take center stage, not just those with affinity for lawmen in cowboy hats.
Gallant Bess, in particular, became a symbol of love and triumph during World War II. Lt. Art Parker was stationed in the Solomon Islands when he was asked by a local rancher to nurse a horse that had been injured during a bombing raid. Lt. Parker agreed and brought Gallant Bess to the naval base where she became a mascot for the unit. He was initially not allowed to bring her back to the United States and it was only the intervention of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt that the horse was able to be reunited with Lt. Parker. This type of true story was fodder for Hollywood. The real Bess starred in the titular movie about her rescue and became a celebrity in her own right receiving visits from other American luminaries, like Judy Garland, Charles Lindberg, and Elizabeth Taylor (the lead in National Velvet. Huzzah! Full circle!).
Below is a great image from the Tartt Collection of the star of Gallant Bess with the star of National Velvet.
Elizabeth Taylor on Gallant Bess, 1946, photograph, 10 x 8 inches, National Sporting Library & Museum, Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection, 2018
Revisiting the Tartt Collection of photographs has been enjoyable (too much so?) and I envision a Part Two in the near future. In the spirit of The Lone Ranger, here is my cliffhanger: which Middleburg-adopted first lady looked regal even as a child? Which British prime minister chomped on cigars even on horseback? And which actor/president was known for his love of horses? Stay tuned to find out!
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