The fonds consists of 20,860 feet of colour and black and white 16 mm film, comprising outtakes, footage and some completed films. With the exception of a few prints, the collection consists of camera original (reversal) film. This is the largest surviving collection of Booth's films. The material was shot between 1931 and 1957. When the collection was acquired it was in a disorganized and neglected state. It consisted of 254 reels and rolls of film piled into boxes in no apparent order and with no reliable identification or titles. All the reels were standard 100 and 50 foot camera reels containing sections of film that varied in length from 5 to 110 feet. Subsequent research indicated these were either random footage or they were outs from original Booth compilations. Many of these reels consisted of sections spliced together, suggesting they were once part of a compilation that had been cannibalized for subsequent compilations. In addition, many sections spliced together bore no relation to each other and some were spliced together backwards or upside-down, perhaps due to a hurried attempt to attain physical neatness. Only 13 of the 254 items were longer rolls and reels of coherent subject matter that indicated original Booth compilations. Internal evidence plus dating indicate that the majority of these reels relate to the films Booth made on his own rather than those he made for sponsors. The majority were shot in the 1930s. Although information is lacking, especially as regards the sponsored films, it appears that this collection, though sizeable, accounts for only about a third of Booth's total output. Booth's films have been described by one film historian as "one of the most important collections of amateur film from British Columbia ...its real strength is ...depicting rural and small town life in the British Columbia interior in the 1930s and 1940s." This assessment is largely born out by the contents of Booth's surviving films. The films primarily feature the communities and livelihoods, as well as the natural landscape , along the highways and waterways of the province's south central interior. Communities are presented in considerable detail; a town, for example, is portrayed by its main street businesses and merchants, residential streets, local mills and plants, transportation systems and nearby recreational opportunities. Ranches or mining operations are also presented in similar detail. Whether Booth's films should be regarded as amateur or professional (in a limited genre), however, remains open to question. Booth's films also reveal that, through personal contacts and familiarity with the communities, he was able to film on a more intimate level than, say, a professional film crew. This is evident in the many close-ups of people in everyday life, earning livelihoods, demonstrating special skills, or at leisure. Given Booth's freedom to film what he wanted, many shots reflect a personal interest -- as though he filmed subjects only for the purpose of making a film record, or to capture a dramatic incident that he chanced upon in his travels. This is suggested by the significant amount of the surviving footage that appears to have no identifiable market purpose.
