The NFSA's Taussig Collection includes thousands of classic European and American film stills and portraits from the beginning of cinema to the 1930s.

Ingrid Bergman in a still from the film Bränningar (Sweden, Ivar Johansson, 1935). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Marlene Dietrich in a still from Blonde Venus (USA, Josef von Sternberg, 1932). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Vivien Leigh has her make-up applied during the making of Fire Over England (William K Howard, UK, 1937).

Louise Brooks with Archie the koala (USA, 1928). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Director George Stevens with Katharine Hepburn on the set of Alice Adams (USA, 1935). From the Taussig film stills collection.

A musical sequence from Gold Diggers of 1935 (USA, Busby Berkeley, 1935). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Joan Crawford in a still from Dancing Lady (USA, Robert Z Leonard, 1933). From the Taussig film stills collection.

From Garbo to Valentino, the Taussig Film Stills Collection features the world's first movie stars. The NFSA now preserves this collection of thousands of American and European film stills from the beginning of cinema to the 1930s. 

A postwar migrant from Austria, Hans Joseph Carlsson Taussig (1907-1989) developed the collection during his early career in film and journalism in Europe. At the time, film studios employed photographers to create glamorous images of performers to capture the ‘it’ factor of stardom and present it to the world. 

Notes by Stephen Groenewegen

Errol Flynn in hair and make-up for The Adventures of Robin Hood (USA, 1938), with canine friend at his feet. From the Taussig film stills collection.

Lew Ayres (left), Greta Garbo and Anders Randolf in The Kiss (USA, Jacques Feyder, 1929). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Cary Grant and Mae West in a still from the film I'm No Angel (USA, Wesley Ruggles, 1933). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Buster Keaton (centre) in a scene from Battling Butler (USA, Buster Keaton, 1926). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Harold Lloyd in a scene from Safety Last! (USA, Fred C Neymeyer, Sam Taylor, 1923). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Rudolph Valentino in The Eagle (USA, Clarence Brown, 1925). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Douglas Fairbanks Jnr and Katharine Hepburn in a still from the film Morning Glory (USA, Lowell Sherman, 1933). Hepburn won the first of her four Academy Awards for Best Actress for her role in this film. From the Taussig film stills collection.

Notes by Stephen Groenewegen

Mary Pickford in Sparrows (USA, William Beaudine, 1926). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (USA, Wallace Worsley, 1923). From the Taussig film stills collection.

Douglas Fairbanks in The Thief of Bagdad (USA, Raoul Walsh, 1924). From the Taussig film stills collection.

George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor in a scene from Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (USA, FW Murnau, 1927). At the first Academy Awards, Janet Gaynor won Best Actress and Sunrise was named Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production. From the Taussig film stills collection.

Notes by Stephen Groenewegen

Cecil B DeMille (USA, c1930). From the Taussig film stills collection.