My understanding is that it is inspired by British
mail boxes, called letterboxes.  The screen is the
shape of these boxes.

David Ezell
NYC

--- Robert Hunt <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> In the midst of this excellent discussion (many
> thanks for the fina
> examples), I've got a question: Does anyone know the
> actual origin of the
> term 'letterboxing"? How long has it been in use?
>
> rh
>
> ----
> Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at
> ScreenSite
> http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite


=====
David Ezell
Director of Research
Site59.com
New York, NY

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