James Petrie Chalmers - Orkney's cinema pioneer

James Petrie Chalmers was born in Tankerness in 1866. After becoming an apprentice printer for the Orkney Herald, where he worked for several years, the young Chalmers emigrated to New York.

Described as "one of the most important pioneers in the history of cinema", Chalmers co-founded and edited the first film magazine The Moving Picture World in 1907. This publication is regarded by film historians as the bible of early cinema history, containing remarkable insights into the fledgling industry.

Through the magazine's editorials, Chalmers championed the new technology as a means of entertainment, art and education. His involvement steered cinema towards the direction of being a proper industry rather than a sideshow attraction as had been envisaged by the inventor Thomas Edison. He eventually fought off Edison’s tight hold on the industry and, after winning a court battle, opened it up to a broader audience.

And then, five years later, James Chalmers was dead. During a conference, Chalmers was walking down a dark corridor, opened the wrong door and fell down a lift shaft.

His death early in 1912, at the age of 46, was mourned by the cinema greats of the time, with one leading American journalist writing: “In this crushing grief of this most lamentable hour one thought of consolation remains: James P. Chalmers has not lived in vain. He has reared for himself a monument which will endure; he has erected for himself a temple of fame destined to outlast the marble of his tomb.”

“James Petrie Chalmers was incredibly brave and should really be regarded as the saviour of cinema. He put his livelihood and his home on the line to advance cinema.”