Cinematic Era: 1896 Vintage

A trains arrives at Perrache station and people disembark.

A crowd watches the Newark Fire Department respond to a call.

Short about parading troops in Mexico.

Short documentary film produced by Eugène Pirou.

Fishermen at the port of La Ciotat load their nets onto a boat, preparing to head out to sea. This early Lumière actuality captures a glimpse of everyday labor along the French coast.

A mounted Mexican president poses for the camera.

Coach W. Hickenbotham takes "Newhaven" out of his box and places the horse at the center of the paddock. Gardiner, the jockey, saddles up the horse, rides it and begins to spin, slowly.

Different species of fish and frogs, inside an aquarium.

“This shows the Fire Department leaving headquarters for an early morning fire. The scene is remarkable for its natural effect. The opening of the engine house doors, the prancing of the horses, and even the startled expression upon the faces of the spectators are all clearly depicted.” -Edison Films, 1897. 150 ft. strip, filmed December 25, 1896 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

A man and a girl approach, while three riders pass in rapid succession across the field.

Brighton. Landing of party from small boat with comic incidents.

Queen Victoria and family experience the new 'cinematograph process'.

American Falls, from Incline R.R. (1896) is a brief silent actuality directed by James H. White and produced by Thomas A. Edison. Filmed from a tourist-friendly incline railway in early December 1896, it presents a striking view of the American Falls at Niagara Falls in crisp detail—part of Edison’s “New Niagara Falls” travelogue series.

The first Dutch fictional film. This very short silent slapstick comedy featured famous Dutch comedians Lion Solser and Piet Hesse. Considered lost.

A group of ten infant girls are on a playground. They are in pairs, matched in height. They are doing an organised dance. Each pair twirls simultaneously, while all five pairs rotate in a circular sequence. They often stop their circular rotation so that each pair can perform the same manoeuvre as the other four simultaneously.

19th century carnival ride.

Young people dive into the sea by jumping off a manmade wooden raft, while a small boat loaded with passengers passes by.

Movement of pedestrians, cabs, carts and trams at the crossroads of two avenues.

Yarmouth Fishing Boats Leaving Harbour is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, directed by Birt Acres, featuring a fleet of fishing smacks leaving the harbour at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK. The "attractive Victorian film," was according to Christian Hayes of BFI Screenonline, "one of the twenty-one subjects presented by Birt Acres to the royal family on 21st July 1896, the day before the marriage of Princess Maud to Prince Charles of Denmark, at one of the very first royal film performances."

This was one of a number of films made to exploit the filmic possibilities of flowing water in the wake of the popular appeal of Rough Sea at Dover.

Hand-color. Silent. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/301943

Police parade in Germany.

A train arrives at Bel Air Station in Paris, France.

Jumping the Blanket.

Three girls and a boy playing with their toys.

A group of black youths jumping from a dock into the water.

People waiting in line for, what one can only assume, a Lumiere production.

A horse-drawn carriage stops in front of a villa. The residents greet the newcomers, as the coach driver unloads baggages.

Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs her popular serpentine dance routine. She twirls around, and as she does so, she uses her long skirts to create a variety of patterns. Each print consists of Annabelle's serpentine dance from 1894-1897.

Three women get in a horse-drawn carriage, as servants load luggage on the roof, before it pulls away.

Artist draws Thomas Edison.

Members of the New York state militia enjoy some relaxing time during a meal break.

A small boat, with three men aboard, is shaken by the backwash.

Lyon, Tête d'Or Park: the warden feeds swans.

A roller skater performs a series of eccentric exercises.

A procession of men and women in different groups, some of whom are carrying banners.

A "gigantic demonstration of the Business Men's Republican and Sound Money Association" on 10/31/1896, opposing "Free Silver" Democrats in the upcoming election. AMB catalogue items 89 and 90.

Boston, Commercial Street.

Mexicans doing a rodeo.

Persimmon winning the 1896 Epsom Derby. Not to be confused with 'The Derby 1985' from the same director.

A wife dismisses a maid she hired when she finds her husband flirting with her. Allegedly the first film to ever use intertitles.

Dragon Parade, then passage of several carriages.