Truth be told, I had no idea this book even existed, before I stumbled across a copy in an online shop in Vermont in late 2020, and was able to purchase it and have it sent to me here in Sydney. And even then, I couldn’t imagine what I’d find inside—it turned out to be a slim booklet, 16 pages in length, published by Rupert himself in about 1921.

Comprised mostly of publicity about himself (and his amazing ability to generate profit), it seems to be a promotional booklet for his company, Rupert Julian Productions, aimed at distributors and the wider industry. As far as I can tell, no films were ever made or released under that name; apart—perhaps—from The Kaiser, The Beast of Berlin three years earlier.

I suspect Rupert spent some time setting himself up to produce his own motion pictures, but wound up at Universal working on Merry-Go-Round in 1923, then The Phantom of the Opera from there, and never went back.

But—as with so much of this historical research—I’d love to find out more about his career around that time! And perhaps something else will turn up to fill in some of those gaps. In the mean time, here is Rupert’s own publication about his life, in both photo and text form…so, enjoy!

• Rupert Julian: An Appreciation

• What The Newspapers Of The World Say About Rupert Julian And His Work

• What The Dramatic Critics Say About Rupert Julian

• Interesting Facts About This Industry Allied With Art

• Interesting Facts About This Industry Allied With Art (Con't)

• Higher Ideals And Better Standards Of Perfection In Motion Pictures

• List of Productions by Rupert Julian