The David Drazin Collection contains both commercial prints that were created for the home market and home movies that were made at the Holy Family Academy school in Chicago between 1939 and 1946. The commercial films include educational films, a Dick Tracy cartoon, and Charlie Chaplin’s 1916 short “Behind the Screen.” The Holy Family Academy was an all-girls Catholic school on Chicago’s north side, and the home movies document nuns and young girls playing outside and on various outings in and around Chicago, as well as seasonal dance recitals.

This collection of home movies was shot by Paul Shreves, who grew up in the Angel Guardian Orphanage (now known as Misericordia Home North), located at 2001 W. Devon Avenue, in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The home movies document leisure scenes from the orphanage and the surrounding area, including Halloween celebrations and picnics.