James Card was a film preservationist who established the motion picture collection at George Eastman House

George Eastman House

The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...

, one of the major moving image archives in the United States.

In November 1948, Card joined the staff of the newly created George Eastman House with the initial title of "assistant to the curator", who was Beaumont Newhall

Beaumont Newhall

Beaumont Newhall was an influential curator, art historian, writer, and photographer. His The History of Photography remains one of the most significant accounts in the field and has become a classic photo history textbook...

. In 1955, he discovered Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks

Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...

 living as a recluse in New York City and persuaded her to move to Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, to be near the George Eastman House. From the museum's inception until his retirement in 1977, Card built the collection and gave it an international identity.