1914 Lubin vault fire
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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
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
Nitrocellulose
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Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
1914 Lubin vault fire
…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…
Nitrocellulose 01
Table tennis ball, prepared from nitrocellulose (Celluloid)
Pure nitrocellulose
Jam tin grenades were made in World War I using gun cotton