Welcome to the Bray Animation Project!
"A Bray a day, 'Movie Fans' pray"... was one of several clever slogans used in a 1921 pamphlet promoting the exhibition of Bray Studios animated cartoons. A leading figure in early twentieth-century comics, J.R. Bray opened the first successful commercially-oriented animated cartoon studio in 1913. (Early animator Raoul Barre preceded Bray by a few months, but his attempts to maintain an actual studio were very short-lived.)
If you're an animation history enthusiast, you've probably read about the Bray Studios in a few of the books published on the subject of cartoon evolution. If you're more of a general early film and silent film enthusiast, chances are fewer that you've come across many references to this studio. Those who have touched upon the studio in their texts tend to praise the innovations utilized by the studio, or to laud (or criticize) J.R. Bray's business tactics. However, few of the studio's cartoons have been readily available for viewing, and general consensus on the films' artistic merit varies considerably.
The Bray Animation Project, headed by historian Thomas J. Stathes with the assistance of many colleagues, is an endeavor which seeks to collect any and all materials pertaining to the animated films produced by Bray's studio throughout the silent film era. As a result of our persistence, many great finds--and the amassing of a very large film library--have become a reality. The Project also seeks to educate and bring new fans to this early and historically significant body of works through the information shared on this website and through future publications of articles, texts, images, and video collections. We welcome any comments and especially the sharing of materials we might not already have. Thank you all and we hope you enjoy your visit to this site.
Left: December 1915 advertisement for Bray cartoons from Moving Picture World. Image courtesy of Jorge Finkielman.
The Bray Animation Project website was first published June 1st, 2011.
Site contents ©2011-2012 by Thomas J. Stathes and individual contributors as noted.
Please request permission for use of images or texts elsewhere.
Site contents ©2011-2012 by Thomas J. Stathes and individual contributors as noted.
Please request permission for use of images or texts elsewhere.
