Motion Pictures, 1894–1912, is a catalog of those copyrighted works identified as motion pictures by Howard Lamarr Walls which were produced during the pioneer period of the motion picture industry. Inasmuch as this catalog includes information supplied by Mr. Walls which does not appear in the records of the Copyright Office, it is not considered a part of the regular Catalog of Copyright Entries, Cumulative Series. It supplements, however, the two volumes in the Cumulative Series, Motion Pictures, 1912–1939 and Motion Pictures, 1940–1949. These three volumes, together with the current issues of the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Parts 12–13, Motion Pictures and Filmstrips, comprise an unbroken record of the copyright registration of motion pictures and, also, an extensive although incomplete record of motion picture production in the United States through the entire history of the industry.

The catalog lists 8,506 works, representing approximately 6,000 titles, which were registered in the Copyright Office as photographs and identified as motion pictures by Mr. Walls. In making this identification, the record books in the Copyright Office were searched for the years 1893 through 1913. The first such registration found is the Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze, January 7, 1894, copyright date January 9, 1894, and the last is the Feast of Belshazzar, copyright date January 23, 1913. Twenty-four motion pictures were registered in Class J, photographs, between August 24, 1912, the effective date of the amendment to the copyright law establishing classes for motion pictures, and the end of the year 1913. These twenty-four motion pictures are listed in this catalog.

Familiarity with the individuals and organizations connected with the production of motion pictures during the pioneer period was essential to the identification as motion pictures of works registered as photographs in the Copyright Office. Mr. Walls is uniquely fitted to make this selection. He is at present Curator of the Motion Picture Collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Previously he was for several years on the staff of the Copyright Office and during that period was interested in the records of early motion pictures which existed in the files of the Office, including the paper prints which were deposited at the time of the registration of many of these motion pictures. Later he became Curator of the Motion Picture Collection of the Library of Congress and Reference Assistant in the Motion Picture Division. He has had, therefore, long and intensive experience in working with these early motion pictures and he is also familiar with the organization of the records of the Copyright Office.

The preparation of the catalog for printing was principally the work of the staff of the Cumulative Section of the Cataloging Division of the Copyright Office. Mr. Walls reviewed all entries after they were transcribed from the record books and assisted in editing them by adding in brackets, whenever he could do so without additional research, explanatory information in those cases in which the titles are not fully self-explanatory. Except for these bracketed phrases the information appearing in the entries in the catalog is that on record in the Copyright Office.

In the case of each entry the name of the copyright claimant is that given in the record book. Any information relating to renewal copyrights or to subsequent changes of ownership recorded in the Copyright Office can be ascertained upon request and upon payment to the Register of Copyrights of the fee specified in the law for the conduct of a search of the records. In addition, information relating to renewal copyrights can be secured by referring to the issue of the Catalog of Copyright Entries covering renewal registrations for the particular class of work during the renewal period.

In the Claimant Index the name of each claimant is given in the fullest form on record in the Copyright Office with cross-references from variant forms. Full information in regard to the content of the entries in the main section and in the index will be found in the section, How To Use This Catalog, p. X.