FROM THE CREATORS OF THE LAUREL & HARDY PODCAST AND MAGAZINE COMES THE DEFINITIVE RECORD OF THE BOYS’ SILENT ERA FEATURING 100’S OF RARE AND UNPUBLISHED IMAGES AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE WORLD’S LEADING LAUREL & HARDY EXPERTS
Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow
In October 2020, Russ and I embarked on a project to create a book that chronologically covers Stan and Babe’s silent films. Russ had hundreds of hi-resolution film stills and I had written essays covering each of the boys’ silent shorts. This promised to be a quick and easy project to complete. We scheduled a release date for some time in 2022, but it soon became apparent that as we worked on the project, our vision for what it could become was growing at a rate of knots.
“A little bit of kindness goes a looong way!”
As we reached out for help, more and more film historians and collectors have come on board, offering their support and promising to share unique items from their collections. Rare stills, posters, lobby cards and press articles have emerged, as well as new nuggets of information relevant to the films and contextually to the Hal Roach studios.
“It could happen!”
Our vision is for this publication to be the biggest and best source of imagery and information relating to the boys’ silent films that have ever been amassed and published. The spirit of collaboration we have experienced from the world’s film historians and collectors has truly been overwhelming, and so we are dedicated to getting this book right, to honour their contributions as well as Stan and Babe’s legacy. The book will take the reader on a fully illustrated, chronological journey through the team’s silent era, including production information, press articles and contextual details from the Hal Roach Studios and Stan and Babe’s personal lives. Packed with fascinating details and gorgeous, high-resolution images, this book will be the definitive record of Laurel and Hardy’s silent shorts
“You don’t believe me!”
Currently, we estimate that the book will be ready for publication sometime in late 2024, but if you’d like to keep abreast of the progress, we’re displaying an infographic below that we’ll keep updated to show you how things are going and what sections of the book have been completed. We want to be transparent about what stage we’re up to and keep everyone excited about this amazing project
“You bet your life it’s a good idea!”
We’re planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the Deluxe First Edition of Laurel & Hardy: Silents. This will essentially be how you order your copy of the book. This edition will be a large format (to best appreciate the images) deluxe hardback, complete with a dust jacket with gold foil detailing and beautiful glossy pages and pin-sharp image reproduction. However, we will only launch the Kickstarter once the book is ready to print. The Kickstarter will be only open for a set period of a few weeks and then all orders will be fulfilled.
“Be Big! Ya’ get me?”
If you have any rare images, lobby cards, posters or documents relating to the Boys’ silent era (1921 to 1929) and you would like to contribute them to the book, we’d love to hear from you. A collaborative project like this doesn’t happen every day, so now is the time to get involved and have those special pieces in your collection included for posterity with all the rest. You will, of course, receive credit in the pages of the book in each and every future printing and edition Please consider dropping us a line at theboys@laurelandhardyfilms.com
"So far... So good!..."
To keep you up to date and well informed - we have a progress chart see below on the state of the book as we move through to completion, or download the latest PDF Update here: DOWNLOAD PROGRESS CHART
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