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A Strange Industry

Fascinating - if slightly grisly - look at a commercial butterfly farm

1916 7 mins Silent

Overview

This grisly film starts picturesquely, with butterflies sunning their wings on a stone wall, and continues well as a gentleman competently sets out his caterpillars on the branches of trees, covered in a linen sleeve to protect them from birds. Things take a turn for the worse, though, as he prepares the caterpillars and butterflies for exhibition - which is not as easy to watch.

This butterfly farm was set up in the 1880s by H. W. Head - presumably the man seen in this film - and was clearly still going strong in 1916 when this film was made by Davison’'s Film Sales agency, a distribution company of interest films who operated during the War years.WWI.

Country

United Kingdom

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

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