National Board of Review

Background
The National Board of Review is a New York City-based organization of film enthusiasts. It was formed in January 1909 by Charles Sprague Smith originally as the New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship to address controversial films. They would review submitted films and object footage they found questionable, going as far as cutting the entire film. From the 1910's to the 1950's, many films, under the approval from the board, carried the "Passed by the National Board of Review" legend. By then, they were overshadowed by the MPAA concerning film censorship.

The board has shown its support of cinema as an art and entertainment form throughout its lifespan. Today, they are known for their annual awards, choosing various movies to honor as the best film of the year.

Logo (March 4, 1914-April 24, 1920)
Visuals: An outlined shield has the slightly arced text inside: Garamond Underneath it is the chairman's signature. Surrounding the shield are the Tragedy and Comedy masks with hair facing the left and right respectively. On top of the shield is a bowl-like object with hair coming out. Lastly, underneath the logo is "OFFICIAL STAMP".

Variants:
 * On films produced by Paramount Pictures, the font for the text is different and wider. Plus, "NATIONAL BOARD" is in a normal font, the chairman's signature is different, and "OFFICIAL STAMP" is in a serif font.
 * On films produced by Pallas Pictures, "CENSORS" is replaced with "CENSORSHIP" or "REVIEW" and "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF" is added underneath "OFFICIAL STAMP".
 * On Why Change Your Wife?, the logo is seen with the texts "OFFICIAL STAMP" on the left and "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF" on the right.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was seen at the end of films produced by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Paramount Pictures, Pallas Pictures, General Film Company, and Edison Manufacturing Company from this period which includes The Boy Mayor, The Intrigue, The Italian, Why Change Your Wife? and When Knights Were Bold. Like many films from this period, they were either destroyed or in the public domain, removing this logo altogether. Plus, many only carried an in-credit notice rather than this logo. Despite its rarity, it is intact on the 2020 Blu-ray of The Intrigue: The Films of Julia Crawford Ivers box set.