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Les origines (1870-1895)

Fils d'un banquier, puis agent immobilier ("Real state dealer"), Elias Burton Holmes est né à Chicago où il poursuit ses études. Il y est recensé en 1870, puis en 1880. Il aurait découvert sa vocation de voyageur et de conférencier vers l'âge de 12 ans et aurait alors acheté son premier appareil photographique.

"Burton Holmes à 13 ans avec sa première caméra". Saratoga. 1883
source: https://www.burtonholmesarchive.com/

En 1885, à peine âgé de 15 ans, il aurait effectué son premier voyage en Europe avec sa mère et sa grand-mère. Il y est très probablement retourné en 1890 puisqu'il en ramène de nombreux clichés dont ceux de la Passion d'Oberammergau qui a lieu cette année-là. L'année suivante, il offre précisément une conférence intitulée Through Europe with a Kodak :

THROUGH EUROPE WITH A KODAK.
The second annual illustrated lecture of the Chicago Camera Club was delivered by E. Burton Holmes in Recital Hall, Auditorium building, to a pleased ans appreciative gathering.
"Through Europe with a Kodak" was the title of the lecture, and some very excellent steropticon views of points of interest were exhibited, while a light and easy running comment, in which clever passaes of humor relieved the sombre stories of history, added to the charme of the evening.
The Riviera, the Italian cities, Switzerland and the Lakes, the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Vienna and its Ring Strasse, Munich "Unter den Linden" and Berlin, Paris, the Castles of England and several scenes on shipboard, were among the subjects selected for the stereopticon exhibition.

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The Daily Inter Ocean, Chicago, mercredi 16 décembre 1891, p. 3.

Dès 1892, il faut une demande de passeport, en son nom propre qu'il renouvelle en 1894, puis en 1896.

Le Cinématographe (1897-1906)

L'arrivée du cinématographe alerte Burton Holmes et Oscar Depue qui voient dans cette nouvelle invention un sérieux concurrent. Décision est prise, et les deux hommes se rendent, à nouveau, en Europe. Alors qu'Oscar Depue se rend à Londres, Burton Holmes embarque, le 27 mars 1897, pour l'Italie, :

Mr. E. Burton Holmes sailed yesterday for Naples and Sicily, to be gone four or five months. Later he will visit London and Paris.

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The Inter Ocean, Chicago, dimanche 28 mars 1897, p. 30.

Alors que Burton Holmes va se consacrer à la photographie, Oscar Depue se charge de tourner les films. Ces derniers sont d'ailleurs développés par la maison Gaumont :

This negative and those made previously in Italy were taken to the Gaumont studio for development. I left the negatives with them in exchange for one print from each. Some fifteen years later, Mr. Gaumont graciously sent us these negatives, which are now in the Burton Holmes Films’ storage vaults.

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DEPUE, 1948: 125.

En 1897, E. Burton Holmes va prendre la succession du grand voyageur et conférencier John L. Stoddard. La presse se fait l'écho de ce passage de témoin :

CENTRAL MUSIC HALL.
"The King is dead, long live the King." Many who heard with sincere regret of the retirement of John L. Stoddard, the eloquent Bostonian, from the luminous lecture field, took consolation in the ascendency of E. Burton Holmes, the brillant and accomplished young Chicagoan. From year to year this traveled and worthy gentleman has appealed in a modest way for the attention of the public with illustrated lectures. This his fifth year, however, has marked a larger range in his field of fortune, and he opened his season to a crowded house last night in Central Music Hall, enlisting in his audience not only the social clientele that has ever given him cordial support, but the public at large, which is more important in this age of liberal education. This is remarked advisedly, for his discourses, as measured by that of last evening, have taken a wider scope in the field of modern history, have a message that is authoritative and important, and are worthy of high commendation.
[...]
The pictorial part of this entertainment is worthy of high praise. Nearly all of the original negatives taken by Mr. Holmes have been colored by Katharine Gordon Breed; and the work has been done with artistic taste and a rare regard for atmospheric effect. Central Music' hall is admirably adapted for entertainments of this kind, and the light effects were admirable. Mr. Holmes was evidently intent upon giving his patrons good measure, for the lecture was followed by a series of original motion pictures by the chronomatographe, made by the lecturer and Oscar Depue. The following procession was given last night: The North German Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm II, leaving Hoboken pier for the Mediterranean, June 12, 1897; a street in Naples; the piazza of San Marco, Venice; a gondola scene, Venice; Venice from a moving steam launch, from the prison to the piazetta, Venice from a moving steam launch, from the royal palace to the Doge's palace; fencing bout, Naples; the Place de la Concorde, Paris; the upper falls of the Yellowstone; polo by the Onwentsia team at Lake Forest; cyclists coasting on the Sheridan road; the transcontinental express, Northern Pacific railway, Crossing the Great Divide.

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The Inter Ocean, Chicago, dimanche 14 novembre 1897, p. 5.

E. Burton Holmes dispose de deux collaborateurs. D'une part, Katharine Gordon Breed qui s'occupe de colorier les vues photographiques et d'autre part, Oscar Bennett Depue qui est son cinématographiste comme on peut également le lire dans cet autre article :

MOTION FOOTBALL PICTURES.
Yesterday afternoon Burton Holmes' operator was out at the University of Chicago and took a motion picture of the varsity team in a line-up against the scrubs. If this picture be developed in time it will be shown in this week's chronomatographe series, which includes recent championship matches in golf and polo. Mr. Holmes, in response to the many requests and inquiries he has received, will give as an extra lecture on Saturday evening, Dec. 4, "The Yellowstone," which was so popular last year. This week's subject, to be given Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, is "Cities of the Barbary Coast." It takes the audience for a delightful sojourn in Algiers, the African Paris, and on a visit to Constantine, the wonder city.

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The Chicago Chronicle, Chicago, mercredi 24 novembre 1897, p. 6.

Quant à Katherine Gordon Breed (Pittsburg, 10/10/1871-New York, 20/07/1915, elle est également une fidèle du conférencier dont le Times-Picayune fournit bon nombre d'informations en quelques lignes :

Within a period of four years, says the Chicago Evening Post, Miss Katharine Gordon Breed, has done more than any other person to elevate the painting of lantern slides to the dignity of a fine art, and has made her name known in Europe and America as a leader in this unique calling. And while engaged in this achievement she has traveled widely in the Orient and upon the continent, has pursued a broad range into several lines of research, has lectured before numerous clubs and organizations in various cities and states, and has seen much of the best social life of Chicago, New York, London and Paris. Miss Breed is a niece of Dr. David Breed, of Pittsburg, who won the gold medal in water color slides at the international exhibition at Geneva in 1893. Dr. Breed Invented a secret process which he communicated to Miss Breed. Talking of her art, Miss Breed said:
Marines are by far the easiest; landscapes come next, and portraits and figures are the most difficult. Every tiny detail of shading in the drapery of a figure is as faithfully worked out as in miniature. In fact, there is a growing class of persons who put fine lantern slide portraits in the same category with miniatures. These are the slide collectors, many of whom do not even own a small private lantern, but spend hundreds of dollars in securing the best examples of this kind of art which money can obtain. When it is remembered that the slightest defect in the painting of a slide is immensely magnified when the picture is thrown upon the canvas sheet by the intense light of the stereopticon, it will be readily seen why this work is more exacting than that of miniature painting. The slightest particle of dust upon the face of a plate wet, with the colors would produce a fatal blemish, and for this reason the windows of my workroom are all tightly sealed. The studio is seldom dusted--then only with a wet cloth, and after every slide has been carefully protected. Any good housekeeper would be thrown into spasms by a glimpse of the big cupboard in which my slides are kept. The work is delightfully educative--almost equivalent to a constant of travel in the most charming nooks and corners of the world. On the other hand, it robs actual travel of its novelty, but not of its pleasures. Before I went to Africa I had painted scores of scenes from there, and it was absolutely. impossible to find a landscape, street, ruin or "type" with which I was not already familiar. On landing in Morocco the first individual we encountered was a street beggar. The lines of his face and the very rags in which he was clothed I had worked out with my brushes with the most painstaking care. He was an old friend to me instead of a stranger. However, the conscientious painter of lantern slides must travel widely in order to secure true color effects and catch the atmosphere of the various countries. The basis of a lantern slide is a "positive" taken from the original photographic negative. This transferring is delicate job, and, like all the work in connection with the preparation of lantern slides, must be done by an expert. The skillful painter cannot afford to undertake these labors, but must intrust them to the hands of the skillful "photochemist".

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The Daily Picayune, Nouvelle-Orléans, lundi 30 janvier 1898, p. 28.

Katherine Gordon Breed (1871-1915)
The Daily Picayune, Nouvelle-Orléans, lundi 30 janvier 1898, p. 28.

S'il n'est peut-être pas l'inventeur du mot ou du concept "travelogue" - on le trouve dans la presse américaine dès 1868 -, Burton Holmes en a été le grand divulgateur. Ses conférences remportent un réel succès et le besoin de recueillir des vues du monde entier va vite se faire sentir. Vers la mi-juillet 1898, Burton Holmes, Oscar Depue et le manager Louis, Francis Brown se rendent à Hawaï : 

PASSENGERS.
Arrivals.
[...]
From San Francisco, per S. S. Moana, June 22-Cabin: E. Burton Holmes, Mr. Depue [...] L. F. Brown.

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Honolulu Hawaiian Gazette, Honolulu, vendredi 24 juin 1898, p. 8.

Au printemps suivant (1899), alors que son collaborateur Oscar Depue vient de fonder la The Depue Chronomatograph Company, Elias Burton Holmes entreprend un périple qui le conduit en particulier aux Philippines. Est-il accompagné de son fidèle collègue ? Pour l'heure, nous ne disposons d'aucune information qui permette de le savoir. Toujours est-il que quelques mois plus tard, après son retour, des vues animées de l'archipel sont projetées : 

One of the principal characteristics of Mr. Holmes' lectures is the quantity of motion pictures projected by the chronomatograph which appropriately illustrates them. The lecturer took to Manila the first motion picture camera ever operated in the Philippines, and it is said that he has obtained enough pictures, both still and motion, to give a better idea of the existing conditions there than anything else has ever done. This season the motion pictures will be introduced directly into the body of the lecture, instead of at its close, as has heen the custom in previous seasons and the innovation is possible because in each case the motion pictures are entirely appropriate to the subject of the lecture.

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Brooklyn Eagle, New York, dimanche 17 décembre 1899, p. 37. 

Detroit Free Press, Detroit, dimanche 17 décembre 1899, p. 35.

L'année 1900 va être consacrée à la préparation d'un tour du monde qui doit durer plusieurs mois. Il fait ainsi une demande de passeport. Burton Holmes et Oscar Depue quittent New York en avril 1901, le 11 avril à bord du Auguste Victoria via Plymouth et Cherbourg à destination de Hambourg. Ils se rendent ensuite à Berlin et Varsovie, puis Saint-Pétersbourg et Moscou. Après la longue traversée de la Sibérie, Oscar Depue et Burton Holmes se rendent au Japon (Nagasaki), puis en Corée (Fusan, Séoul). Les deux hommes sont de retou à San Francisco le 6 octobre 1901.

L'année 1902, est marquée par le changement d'appareil, puisque désormais les deux hommes adoptent un Bioscope pour un voyage en Scandinavie. 

"Mr Burton Holmes:
Globetrotter och amerikansk journalist"
Figaro, Lördagen, 19 juillet 1902, p. 2.

Comme à leur habitude, après la saison estivale des tournages vient celle des conférences en automne. Puis l'année 1903 est marquée par un séjour en Alaska et au Canada. À cette époque, il peut compter sur ses collaborateurs, outre Oscar Depue, MM. G. Bournique et Louis Francis Brown. 

"BURTON HOLMES AND HIS STAFF."
Next Stands Mr. Brown; On the Right Mr. Bournique; On the Left is Mr Depue;  Mr. Holmes Sitting.
"Bring far-away lands while you wait", The Detroit Free Press, Detroit, dimanche 11 octobre 1903, p. 2.

Les voyages succèdent aux conférences : Grande-Bretagne (1904), Allemagne, Autriche, Irlande (1905), Naples, Grèce,  Égypte  (1906)

Et après... (1907-1958)

Au cours des années suivantes, les deux amis vont continuer à parcourir le monde afin de nourrir en images fixes et animées les conférences que donne Burton Holmes. L'année 1908 est celle d'un nouveau tour du monde qui les conduit de nouveau en Asie. Le conférencier qui publie annuellement des ouvrages (Travelogues) qui permettent de rendre compte de ses voyages. Dans le tome X, il rend hommage à son proche collaborateur :

I wish again to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I owe to my fellow-workers, whose efforts have contributed in so large a measure to the success of the Travelogues: [...] to Oscar Bennett Depue, who, since our first lecture, in 1890, has operated the projecting instruments with unfailing accuracy and skill—who since the introduction of Motion Pictures, in 1897. has devoted himself to the perfecting of the art of Cinematography, and who has been for many years and in many lands the ever helpful companion of my travels, and to Louis Francis Brown, who, with business ability and tact, has directed the public presentations of the Travelogues.
E. BURTON HOLMES.
Honolulu, March 4. 1908.

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HOLMES, 1908: 9.

Elias Burton Holmes

Les Travelogues, richement illustrés de ses photographies, vont connaître un grand succès et ils seront réédités à plusieurs reprises : volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, volume 5, volume 6, volume 7, volume 8, volume 9 et volume 10. En 1911, Burton Holmes et Oscar Depue se rendent en Amérique latine pour un nouveau voyage (Brésil, Argentine et Chili).

"Crossing the River Iguassu to set up camera position to photograph the great falls"
DEPUE, 1948: 125.

L'année suivante (1912), les deux hommes parcourent à nouveau l'Asie... Au début de l'année 1916, la Paramount annonce qu'elle vient de signer un contract avec Burton Holmes : 

Burton Holmes, the most famous traveler and lecturer on travel in the world today, has founc that it is possible for the results of his work to be seen in a hundred photoplay theaters throughout the country at the same time, through the contract he has just signed with the Paramount Pictures Corporation, and it is now announced that in January, the Paramount-Burton Holmes Travelpictures will be released and booked solely through the Paramount exchanges. Mr. Holmes will personally edit, assemble and manufacture these films which will embody the same kind of interesting and comprehensive views that he has been showing in connection with his "Travelogues.

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"PARAMOUNT, 1916: 27.

Cette collaboration se prolonge jusqu'en 1922.

Burton Holmes décède en 1958, à peu un an et demi avant la disparition de son fidèle collaborateur  Oscar Depue. 

Sources

"A Short History of Holmes' Film Work": https://www.burtonholmes.org/films/films.html 

"Adventures With a Camera", The News Tribune, Tacoma, samedi 21 novembre 1903, p. 23.

"Bring far-away lands while you wait", The Detroit Free Press, Detroit, dimanche 11 octobre 1903, p. 2.

DEPUE Oscar A., "My first 50 years in motion pictures", American Cinematographer, avril 1948, p. 124-129.

HOLMES Burton, "What Part Does Korea Play in the Battle Between Russia and Japan ? ", Harrisburg Telegraph, samedi 20 février 1904, p. 8.

HOLMES Burton, Travelogues, Volume X, New York, The McClure Company, 1908, 358 p.

"Holmes's Happy Days", Life, vol. 45, nº 6, 11 août 1958, p. 8-9.

"Paramount Gets Burton Holmes Services Will Issue Travelogues", Motography, 1er janvier 1916, p. 27.

"Wonderful Home of Burton Holmes", The Buffalo News, Buffalo, dimanche 12 avril 1903, p. 16.

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