On the morning of June 13, 1914, a disastrous fire and a series of related explosions occurred in the main film vault of the Lubin Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Several possible causes for the blaze were cited at the time, one being "spontaneous combustion" of highly flammable nitrate film, which was the motion picture industry's standard medium for cameras throughout the silent era and for the first two decades of "talking pictures". Millions of feet of film were consumed in the flames, including most of the master negatives and initial prints of Lubin's pre-1914 catalog, several of the company's recently completed theatrical prints ready for release and distribution, a considerable number of films produced by other studios, inventories of raw and stock footage, hundreds of reels documenting historic events that occurred between 1897 and early 1914, as well as other films related to notable political and military figures, innovations in medical science, and professional athletic contests from that period. While this fire was not a decisive factor in Lubin's decline and bankruptcy by September 1916, costs associated with the disaster only added to the corporation's mounting debts, which led to the closure or sale of its remaining operations the following year.
Lubin vault custodian Stanley Lowry (foreground) surveying the destruction
The Lubin plant as it appeared in 1911. Note at upper left the large glass-and-steel structure. This facility's interior, flooded with sunlight during the day, was used to film the company's theatrical releases.
Lubinville's vault consisted of five adjoining units, each similar to but larger than this vault at the Evans Film Company in New York, 1914.
Siegmund Lubin (seated center) posing with his employees at Lubinville two years before the fire
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.
Lubin Studios open-air set on the roof of the building in Philadelphia, 1899
"A Corner of the Assembling and Joining Room at the Philadelphia Studio of the Lubin Company", The Photoplay Author, 1914