"The Greatest Traveler of His Time"
July 21, 2008 11:30 AM Subscribe
Burton Holmes, Extraordinary Traveler. Burton Holmes didn't invent travel stories, slide shows, moving pictures or cross-country lectures, but he put them all together and created the travelogue (a term coined by his manager) as performance art. The site is full of information, pictures and additional links (including companion pages about the Trans-Siberian Railroad) chronicling Holmes' life and legacy.
Thanks for the nice reminder of a great form of entertainment I sorely miss.
These travelogues are not your basic, boring slide show. Who'd pay money for that?
My aunt took me to some travelogues as entertainment in the 1970s. Some of them were great entertainment, a lost art. For instance, I saw Don Cooper present his "Trails of the Mountain West" which to this day is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. (I think I'll buy it).
What was so funny about it? The combination of the silly photographs of their "RV" which was a modified Model T Ford which they built to look like a mobile prospector's cabin, complete with outhouse pulled behind, the tone of the presenter's voice and the sheer fun the guys obviously had going on such an outrageous adventure. Don Cooper had us unsuspecting saps rolling on the aisles with laughter.
Also, someone at MIT ponders the genre.
posted by rw at 3:59 PM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
These travelogues are not your basic, boring slide show. Who'd pay money for that?
My aunt took me to some travelogues as entertainment in the 1970s. Some of them were great entertainment, a lost art. For instance, I saw Don Cooper present his "Trails of the Mountain West" which to this day is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. (I think I'll buy it).
What was so funny about it? The combination of the silly photographs of their "RV" which was a modified Model T Ford which they built to look like a mobile prospector's cabin, complete with outhouse pulled behind, the tone of the presenter's voice and the sheer fun the guys obviously had going on such an outrageous adventure. Don Cooper had us unsuspecting saps rolling on the aisles with laughter.
Also, someone at MIT ponders the genre.
posted by rw at 3:59 PM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Oh! Sorry. What I meant to say was I blogged this almost two years ago to the day.
posted by tellurian at 9:21 AM on July 22, 2008
posted by tellurian at 9:21 AM on July 22, 2008
I must apologise. This might be coming across as some sort of lame attempt to promote my own blog. It's not, I assure you.
posted by tellurian at 9:23 AM on July 22, 2008
posted by tellurian at 9:23 AM on July 22, 2008
This guy (and the website) is awesome and deserves as much exposure as can be garnered.
posted by tellurian at 9:25 AM on July 22, 2008
posted by tellurian at 9:25 AM on July 22, 2008
Except to say that Violet Blue wins all comment topping charts (no gaming) at this precise point in time. [adversaria]
posted by tellurian at 9:48 AM on July 22, 2008
posted by tellurian at 9:48 AM on July 22, 2008
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