Perser Family Collection
Inclusive Dates
1940 – 1986
Abstract
The Perser Family Collection contains home movies shot by William Ballert and his son-in-law Donald Alan Perser between 1940 and 1992. Most of the footage was shot around the family homes in Chicago, Northbrook, and Delavan, WI, as well trips to visit family in Toronto and Florida. Some of the home movies have sound. The collection also contains elements for "A Step in Time Saves Nine," an industrial film made by Donald Perser for Avon Cosmetics.
Collection Items
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
- 1941 Vacation Pine Lake
- 1947 Medinah Caravan
- 1952 To Florida By Train / Havana . Cuba
- 1953 Mexico . Part 1 / Magnetic Sound Striped
- 1953 Mexico Part 2
- 1954 Niagara . Toronto
- 1955 Golden Wedding
- 1962 Seattle Fair - Arvins Graduation - June 1962
- 1963 BLN HBG HAN. 1965 Berlin Frankfurt
- 1963 Hawaii - Honolulu - Oahu March 1963 Part 1
- 1963 Insel Ruegen
- 1964 Part Two
- 1965 Part 1. Spring Summer Gettysburg New York Fair
- 1965 Part 2 Phoenix
- 1966 Thanksgiving - Christmas - New Year
- 1967 Expo '67 Worlds Fair Trip
- 1967 Reel 1. January to June
- 1967 - Reel 2 - July to August
- 1967 - Reel 3 - August to December
- 1967 Reel Two Hawaii / San Francisco
- 1967 San Francisco - Hawaii Reel One
- 1968 Reel Five With Arvin in New York - Atlantic City
- 1968 Reel Four With Arvin in Nyack, St. Marks
- 1968 - Reel One - Sylvester Easter Spring
- 1968 Reel Six Christmas at Home and with Arvin
- 1968 - Reel Three - H. Molzahn - Lieschen Strehlows
- 1968 Reel Two Delavan Camp Trapshooting Rickmanns Meyers
- 1969 - Reel Five - Glenview Burgers Crivitz Moon - Shot Movers for FLA.
- 1969 Reel Four - St. Pete - Venice - Bounty - Spring in Glenview
- 1969 Reel One Sylvester Florida St. Pete Lauderdale By The / Florida One. Ocean Villa
- 1969 Reel Three Lion Safari Cape Kennedy / Florida Three
- 1969 Reel Two Lauderdale - Perser - Harbor
- 1970 Reel One
- 1970 Reel One Our First Season in Fla. Christmas - Boatride - Skeet
- 1970 - Reel Two - Royal Coast - Rickmann - Easter - April - Home Again
- 1971 - Reel One - Our Second Season in FLA. Birthday Party - Jahmarkt - Christmas Home May 4
- 1971 - Reel Two - Summer in Glenview - Laurie's Grad. - Nov. 9 Back to Fla.
- 1972 Reel One
- 1972 Reel One Confirm . Cambridge Dec.7.72 Moving 1973
- 1974
- 1976
- 1978 Reel 1
- 1978 Reel 2
- 1978 Reel 3
- 1979 Reel 2
- 1979 Reel One
- 1980 Reel 2 + Xmas '81
- 1980 Reel One
- 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 86
- 1981 Tikal Cruise
- 1984 Mermoz Cruise - San Juan to Trinidad
- Accura Film Changing Bag (Equipment)
- Arvin 1941
- Avon Summer Outings 1957 to 1961
- Avon Summer Outings Reel Two 1962 - 1966
- Ballert film 5/26/92
- Bell & Howell Filmo 16mm rewinds (Equipment)
- Bill Ballert This is Your Life
- California Trip - 1969 Reel 2
- Driving to Florida February 1951
- Europe 1963 Part Four . Switzerland . Paris 1963
- Europe 1963 Part One . London To Rhein / Magnetic Sound Striped
- Europe 1963 Part Three . Florence Capri Rome Monaco / Magnetic Sound Striped
- Europe 1963 Part Two . Rothenburg To Venice
- Feb 1979 St. Thomas Trip
- Feb 1982 Acapulco Mexico
- February 1964 Jamaica Florida
- Florida 1970 - 71
- Florida Trip Dec '68 to Jan '69
- Hawaii . Maui . Hawaii . Kauai . March 1963 Part 2
- Hawaii Titles - 1963
- Jamaica April 1980
- January 1967 Yucatan Mexico
- January 1977 Caribbean Trip Verna + Don
- June 1982 Trip to Anaheim, Yosemite, Nevada, San Francisco
- Kodak Presstape Universal Splicer (Equipment)
- Kodak Show / Hawaii / Picturetaking at the Fair
- Mexico Feb. 1962
- Narrations on Travel Tours (Paper or Photographic Materials)
- Olde Tyme Movies / Birds!!
- Our Yearly Motion Pictures Air Mileage (Paper or Photographic Materials)
- Our Yearly Motion Pictures From 1966 in Super 8 m/m (Paper or Photographic Materials)
- Pups . Barnyard . Grand Uproar . Witches
- Reel 1 Chicago - Stuttgart - Muenchen Sept. 1. 1967
- Reel 2 Muenchen - Salzburg Sept. 1967
- Reel 3 Hellbrun - Salzkammergut Sept. 1967
- Reel 4 Dachstein - Linz - Donau Sept. 1967
- Reel 5 Wien - Donauturm - Riesenrad . Sept. 1967
- Reel 6 Semmering - Dolomiti . Sept. 1967
- Reel 7 - Innsbruck - Oberammergau - Sept 1967
- Reel 8 - Lindau - St. Bernadino Pass. - September 1967
- Reel 9 Lugano . Sept. 1967
- Reel 10 Lake Como - Luzern . Sept. 1967
- Reel 11 Mt. Pilatus . Steamer Tour . Sept. 1967
- Reel 12 Basel - Rheinfall - Baden Baden . Sept. 1967
- School Years 1944 - 45 - 46 - 50 - 52 - 55
- Sept. 1981 Colorado Reel 1
- Sept 1981 Colorado Reel 2
- Sound Test Film
- Sport Films
- Sport Films
- Sport Films
- A Step in Time - Negative Track
- A Step in Time Saves Nine
- Tarzan
- Vacation 1961 Quebec
- Vacation 1966 July Wisconsin Dells / New York / Toronto
- Vacation July 1965 Toronto - New York - World's Fair
- Verna and Don 1955 Magnetic Sound
- The Year 1940
- The Year 1941
- The Year 1942
- The Year 1943
- The Year 1944
- The Year 1945
- The Year 1946
- The Year 1947
- The Year 1948
- The Year 1949
- The Year 1953 - 1954
- Year 1954
- The Year 1955
- Year 1955, Part Two
- Year 1956
- Year 1957
- Year 1958 Part One
- Year 1958 Part Two
- Year 1959
- Year 1960 Part One
- Year 1960... Part Two
- Year 1961
- Year 1962
- Year 1962 Part Two
- Year 1963 Part 2
- Year 1963 Part One
- The Year 1964
- Year 1964 Part One
- Year 1965
- Year 1965 (Reel Two)
- The Year 1966
- Year 1966 Part Two
- Year 1966 Reel 1
- Year 1967 Reel One
- Year 1968
- Year 1968 Reel Two
- Year 1969 Part 1 / California Trip
- Year 1969 Part 2
- Year 1969 Part One
- Year 1971 Reel Two
- Year 1973
- Year 1974
- Year 1975
- Year 1977
- Yearly Review... 16 m.m. Motion Pictures (Paper or Photographic Materials)
- The Years 1950 1951 1952
- The Years 1956 1957 1958
- The Years 1959 . 1960 . 1961
- The Years 1962 . 1963
Collection Identifier
C.2019-15
Extent of Collection
107 reels of 16mm film totaling approximately 133,850 feet; 44 reels of Super 8mm film totaling approximately 15,500 feet; set of Bell & Howell Filmo 16mm rewinds; Accura film changing bag; Kodak Presstape Universal splicer
Language Of Materials
English
Custodial History
Films donated to CFA by Laurie Perser in late 2019. Previously, the films were stored by Laurie's grandfather (William Ballert) and father (Donald Alan Perser).
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only digital copies will be provided for on-site viewing.
Use Restrictions
CFA owns rights to the home movies.
Creators
Perser, Donald
(was created by)
Donald Alan Perser (1933-1998) was public relations director of Avon Products and president of Ballert Orthopedics in Chicago, a company started by his father-in-law William Ballert. Perser attended Northwestern University where he graduated with a degree in business and law. He married Verna Ballert in 1956 and had three daughters, Laurie, Carrie, and Wendy. Born in Canada, he became an American citizen in 1967.
Ballert, William
(was created by)
William Ballert was born in Germany in 1905. He was married to Irmgard Ballert (nee Thalacker), and had two children, Verna and Arvin. The family lived on Campbell Avenue in Chicago. He was a certified orthotist and prosthetist, and co-founded Ballert Orthopedics on Peterson Ave in Chicago with his father-in-law, Carl Thalacker, in 1930. He provided services for the Polio Foundation in the early 1930s. He died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1975.