King of (Silent) Cartoons

I want to introduce you to a pretty cool cat. His name is Tom Stathes and I think he might interest all you film junkies out there. 

Tom is an avid collector of early animated films. He has an encyclopedic knowledge on the topic and through our dialogues I have come to admire not only his appreciation of a medium but also his emphasis on the preservation and celebration that must go into it.

He sells quality prints at fair prices off of his website (which I will link later) and I myself have been a customer of his. I came across him through a Craigslist back when I just got my projector. He was selling some 16mm prints that were lying around and didn't really have a place in his collection (mostly PSAs and propaganda flicks). To be a nice guy, he threw in a free reel or two. What was on them? Cartoons, of course. 

It's definitely worth checking out if you want to purchase some films but also if you just want a good read. He hosts screenings occasionally and if I'm in town for the next one I'll definitely hit that up. 

He just put up a cleaner, new site and I thought I owed it to him to let you guys know about it. To visit his new site, click HERE. I highly recommend doing so.

Also, my final thought on Tom. In his blogger default picture he looks a little bit like Ernest Hemingway. 

Major plus.