--- title: '''The Great American Play at Last!'' The Birth of a Nation, Lyric Theatre advertisement (Allentown, 1916)' url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/birth-of-a-nation-lyric-ad-1916/ description: 'A newspaper advertisement for D. W. Griffith''s film The Birth of a Nation lists its audience in numbers: ''830 consecutive performances in N. Y.'', ''400…' section: Collection --- [Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/) **Content note:** Advertisement for a film that presents the Ku Klux Klan as heroic rescuers; the ad promotes the 'wild ride of the Ku Klux Klans' as a spectacle. This object is shown as it was published. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) [!['The Great American Play at Last!' The Birth of a Nation, Lyric Theatre advertisement (Allentown, 1916)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/birth-of-a-nation-lyric-ad-1916.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/birth-of-a-nation-lyric-ad-1916.jpg) # 'The Great American Play at Last!' The Birth of a Nation, Lyric Theatre advertisement (Allentown, 1916) A newspaper advertisement for D. W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation lists its audience in numbers: '830 consecutive performances in N. Y.', '400 times in Chicago', '300 times in Boston', and '20 Million People Have Seen It Without Adverse Criticism'. The tell is the stacked attendance figures standing in for argument; the ad also advertises the 'wild ride of the Ku Klux Klans' as a spectacle. ## Text on the object Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked ``` Back By Pop- ular Demand. Last Chance to See It LYRIC THEATRE W. D. FITZGERALD, Manager. Last Times In This Vicinity Week Starting Monday Matinee, March 27---Matinee Every Day The Great American Play at Last! D. W. GRIFFITH'S EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD 18,000 People 3,000 Horses 8 Months to Produce Cost $500,000 Symphony Orchestra of 30 830 Consecutive Performances in N. Y. 400 Times in Chicago 300 Times in Boston 200 Times in Philadelphia THE BIRTH OF A NATION Production Exactly the Same as the One at Liberty Theatre, N.Y. SEE BIGGEST BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTED. CITIES BUILT UP ONLY TO BE DESTROYED BY FIRE. FORD'S THEATRE RE-PRODUCED FOR THE LINCOLN TRAGEDY. WILD RIDE OF THE KU KLUX KLANS. 20 Million People Have Seen It Without Adverse Criticism EVENING PRICES:---Entire Lower Floor, $1.00; First 3 Rows in Balcony, 75c; Balance, 50c; Gallery, 25c. MATINEE PRICES:---First 7 Rows, 75c; Balance, 50c; First 3 Rows Balcony, 50c; Balance, 25c; Gallery, 25c. Seats for any performance now on sale. ``` [← کاوه (Kaveh), no. 1, Berlin-Charlottenburg, 24 January 1916](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/kaveh-berlin-first-issue-1916/) [Proclamation of the Irish Republic (Poblacht na hÉireann), Easter Rising →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/proclamation-of-the-irish-republic-1916/) ## Using the same techniques - [Consult of the doctors on the grave illness of the Grand Sultan (Consult vande medicijnen inde swaere siekte vanden grooten Sultaen)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/consult-of-the-doctors-sick-sultan-antwerp-1683/) (Spanish Netherlands · 1683 · Transfer, Bandwagon) - [Das ganze Deutschland soll es sein. Haut sie auf den Chassepot! (German broadsheet song and caricature, Franco-Prussian War)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/das-ganze-deutschland-soll-es-sein-chassepot-1870/) (North German Confederation · 1870 · Bandwagon, Name-calling) - [Boletín nuevo: Noticias importantes (New Bulletin: Important News), Revolución del Parque](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/boletin-nuevo-revolucion-del-parque-1890/) (Argentina · Jul 29, 1890 · Bandwagon, Name-calling) - [Illustrated London News, 'The War Reviewed' and 'Our Note Book', 26 May 1900 (p. 698)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/iln-mafeking-night-war-reviewed-1900/) (United Kingdom · May 26, 1900 · Glittering generalities, Bandwagon) - [¡¡Glorias de México!! Porfirio Díaz y Ramón Corral, electos por el voto unánime del pueblo (Glories of Mexico!! Porfirio Díaz and Ramón Corral, Elected by the Unanimous Vote of the People)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/glorias-de-mexico-diaz-corral-1904/) (Mexico · 1904 · Glittering generalities, Bandwagon) - [The Bombay Gazette, 17 October 1905, page 5: "The Partition of Bengal" and the Swadeshi meeting in Bombay](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bombay-gazette-partition-of-bengal-1905/) (British India · Oct 17, 1905 · Bandwagon). Content note: Colonial-era newspaper page using period terms for Indians ('Babus', 'Natives', 'Mahomedans') and reporting a Swadeshi meeting; reproduced as printed. - [La vuelta del desterrado (The Return of the Exile)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/la-vuelta-del-desterrado-vanegas-arroyo-1911/) (Mexico · 1911 · Glittering generalities, Bandwagon) - [Saludo y felicitación al Señor D. Francisco I. Madero al tomar posesión de la presidencia (Salute and Congratulations to Francisco I. Madero on Taking the Presidency)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/saludo-madero-1911/) (Mexico · Nov 6, 1911 · Glittering generalities, Bandwagon)