'For the Love of the Art': The life and work of Percy Nash, film producer and director of the silent era

This paper outlines the career of pioneer British producer-director Percy Nash (1868-1958). Nash made some 70 films between 1912 and 1927 (of which only one still exists), and was a key figure in the creation of the Elstree Studios. The scarcity of information on Nash and his work has led most previous historians to ignore his contributions to the development of British cinema. The author draws on Nash's unpublished memoir and other family sources, as well as legal records and trade paper notices, in order to create the first proper account of his work in theatre and film.