Siegmund Lubin (born Zygmunt Lubszyński, April 20, 1851 – September 11, 1923) was an American

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

pioneer who founded the

Lubin Manufacturing Company The Lubin Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark. * * History The Lubin Manufacturing Company was forme ...

(1902–1917) of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Biography

Siegmund Lubin was born as Zygmunt Lubszyński, a son of Samuel Lubszyński and Rebeka Lubszyńska, Polish

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, in Breslau,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

(now

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) or in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

on April 20, 1851. His father, a successful

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, moved the family for economic reasons to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

soon after Zygmunt's birth. There young Zygmunt Germanicized the spelling of his first name to ''Siegmund''. He later graduated from the

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

and in 1876 emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he settled in

and worked as an

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

. Around 1881, he shortened his surname from the Polish Lubszyński to Lubin. He soon progressed to making his own camera and projector combination, which he sold. In 1896 he began distributing films for

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

. In 1897 he started making films and in 1902 formed the

, incorporating it in 1909. He made the film '' Meet Me at the Fountain'' in 1904. His company also sold illegally copied prints of many films by other directors, notably those of

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

, making Lubin one of the foremost early practitioners of film piracy. By 1910 his company had built a

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

, "Lubinville", in Philadelphia, at Twentieth and Indiana Streets. A fire at its studio in June 1914 destroyed the negatives for his unreleased new films. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in September of that year, Lubin Studios was among the American filmmakers who lost foreign sales. The Lubin Film Company went out of business on September 1, 1917, after having made more than a thousand motion pictures. Siegmund went back to work as an optometrist. He died on September 11, 1923, at his home in Ventnor, New Jersey. He was buried on September 14, 1923.

Filmography

* Cake Walk (1898) * A Good Joke (1901) * Chicken Thief (1903) * Trick Donkey (1903) * Dancing for a Chicken (1903) * '' Meet Me at the Fountain'' (1904) * '' The Yiddisher Boy'' (1909) * '' The Sleeping Sentinel'' (1914) * '' The Tale of a Chicken'' (1914) * '' Mandy's Chicken Dinner'' (1914)

Legacy

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Siegmund Lubin has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

(with his first name as "Sigmund") at 6166 Hollywood Blvd.

References

External links

*
The King of the Movies: Film Pioneer, Siegmund Lubin
- biographical page with time line and other material by Joseph P. Eckhardt, Professor of History, Montgomery County Community College *
WHYY
Ed Cunningham's Philadelphia, Siegmund Lubin, Video
Siegmund Lubin: King of the Movies

Betzwood, Digital History from the Libraries of Montgomery County Community College {{DEFAULTSORT:Lubin, Siegmund 1851 births 1923 deaths American film production company founders American film studio executives American Jews American people of Polish-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Philadelphia American cinema pioneers Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Heidelberg University alumni Lubin Manufacturing Company People from Ventnor City, New Jersey