A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes even the most brilliant visual artists need to use language. Before talkies, movie directors interspersed title cards into their films to convey a particular thought or idea that would be impossible for people on the screen to act out. These flickering, elaborate title cards are unique to this period in history – there’s been nothing like them before or since.

Enjoy this small collection from early films like Chicago and The Patsy!