Cinematic Era: 1896 Vintage

Top-hatted pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic pass over Blackfriars Bridge in London.

Police detachment in Germany.

Starting for the Fire (1896), directed by James H. White for the Edison Manufacturing Company, was filmed on location in Newark, New Jersey. The short captures the dramatic moment fire engines race into action, with teams of horses “dashing madly by, reeking with foam” as one engine after another speeds past. Part of a trio of Edison firefighting films, it exemplifies the era’s fascination with motion, urgency, and public spectacle.

Two women perform a choreographed 'Russian' dance routine.

"These rocks, near Biarritz, are very well known. The scene shows the rough sea hitting their feet. There are no characters."

Lumiere short

Staged boxing match between Sergeant-Instructor Barrett and Sergeant Pope, with a round, interval, and knockout.

A street scene in Berlin near Hallesches Tor.

A royal wedding procession.

A street scene in Rome from the Lumière Brothers.

Several fire-carriages, presumably heading to a fire.

The first X-ray cinematograph film ever taken, shown by Dr. MacIntyre at the London Royal Society (1896 and 1909). X-ray pictures of a frog knee joint, a beating human heart and movements of the stomach.

At the launch of a ship, of which we can only see the hull, the audience moves aside.

The 1896 film Défilé du 38e régiment du génie à Madrid (Parade of the 38th Regiment of Engineers in Madrid) is a historical French documentary film that shows Spanish military engineers departing from the Príncipe Pío barracks in Madrid to embark at Cádiz for the Cuban campaign.

“Arrival of a train at Villefranche (Rhône) station.” A train enters the station, travelers get off it while others get in.

Early short film

Filmed in Stuttgart in 1896, this Lumière actuality shows cavalrymen of the 26th Dragoons regiment leaping their horses over a low obstacle during training exercises. Part of a short series of military views shot in Germany, the film captures the precision and discipline of the mounted unit in motion.

Changing of the Halberdier Guard at the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards of the Queen Regent María Cristina appears. As they exit through the Bailén Gate of the Royal Palace, some passersby are also filmed.

The earliest surviving footage of bustling Victorian Bradford. A girl stands centre, possibly selling something to passersby. A small brass band marches through. Tram tracks are clearly visible and a steam tram goes through the scene, heading towards the camera before passing to its right. Plenty of male bicyclists can be seen on the road weaving around the horse drawn carts. The film has no official attribution. The North East Film Archive catalogue suggests George Henderson, a famous filmmaker from the north east England whilst the catalogue entry at the BFI suggests Mitchell and Kenyon. The film was made looking towards a now demolished building north of the northwestern corner of Bradford Town Hall. The location may be at the northern end of the pedestrianised stretch of Channing Way, next to the eastern side of the Mirror Pool. Almost all the original Victorian architecture of the Town Hall Square has been demolished to make way for the City Park.

Sheep pass through a gate and enter a courtyard; a man counts them in passing.

Two unidentified actresses on stage; one of them plays a male character dressed in a 16th-century costume, who is delighted by the dance of a ballerina.

Slavic dance routine by Les Sœurs Rappo

Short film from (1896)

Porters bring goods into a warehouse.

A Serpentine dance performance, possibly featuring Loie Fuller (though the record is unclear). While the film is lost, there is a new digital version based on re-creation from a flipbook produced by Léon Beaulieu around the same time

A short black and white film by the Lumiere brothers which captures the crowd at the Cologne Cathedral after the main religious services.

Asian and Near Eastern diplomats and royalty file past the camera on their way to the coronation of Czar Nicholas II of Russia.

Mexicans lassoing a horse.

Short made in Mexico

Georges Méliès lost film.

Dragons escorting officers on horseback.

Pedestrian and vehicles traffic on the Mittlere Brücke in Basel, Switzerland.

Fishermen, sitting by a boat, are mending nets.

A young man explains to a small boy how to ride a bicycle.

"A company of little darkies showing off their paces to the music of the banjo."

A black and white short from the Lumière brothers in which a crowds is filmed at the Place de l'Opèra in Paris.

"Shows papa walking the floor with a crying baby in his arms. An exceedingly laughable subject."

Visitors at a historical fair in the mediaeval city of Dresden.

A battalion, preceded by three riders and a military marching band, parades in front of the crowd. A man is manoeuvring a handcart bearing the inscription "Sunlight Soap" in the foreground.

A view of Piccadilly Circus in London.

In front of a building, five carpenters are working on woodworking machines.