Cinematic Era: 1900 Vintage

A magician presents a circular piece of paper from which he removes the flags of the allies. Then from each flag he produces a soldier from the respective country, and finally he produces a Chinaman. But hardly have the allies seen the latter than they pounce on him and try to cut him into pieces. The funniest part of our story is that the Chinaman escapes in a balloon, with an expression of childish innocence on his face as the allies try to cut him up.

Two Chinese men (in full regalia) and an American-style tough are sitting at a table, eating out of bowls, all of them using chop sticks; The American is quite practiced with his chopsticks, eating things of large size and indeterminate composition.

Directed by Robert W. Paul.

This picture, taken from Thorneycroft's Yard, shows the two boats about twelve lenghts apart - a state of things owing to terrible weather in which the race was rowed. It is a very comprehensive view of the contest and a good photograph despite the very trying conditions under which it was produced.

Stairs from the Pont de l'Alma.

Film produced by William K. Dickson’s British Mutoscope and Biograph Company.

A train snaking around Chamonix, Switzerland, with a steep Alpine slope inches away from the tracks.

This shows the heart of one of the tremendous drifts in the east end of Galveston. Hundreds of dead bodies are concealed in these immense masses, and at the time the picture was taken the odor given out could be detected for miles. The subject shows a gang of laborers clearing away the debris in the search for corpses, one of which was discovered while the picture was being taken. (Edison film catalog)

Reenactment of a South African battle.

A spy is executed by firing squad.

A short skit in which vaudeville duo Foottit and Chocolat reenact the Wilhelm Tell routine.

Aboard the 'Tonkin' - jumping rope.

This film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection - an amazing visual record of everyday life in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Here is another view on the Bund, with The Garden on the left, with its high arched conservatory. As in the former scene, the peculiar wheelbarrows prove to be the central attraction. Evidently some tourists are enjoying the novel vehicle, as shown by the hilarity of the party that passes by in front of our artists. A barrow is often loaded with three or four passengers, although but one man propels it.

A Thomas Edison film showing a torpedo being shot.

A client has trouble listening to the photographer's instructions.

A family sits down to enjoy a meal that ends up being fraught with complications.

People resting and walking on the beach.

A short clip of street life in the French village Chamonix.

Only 15 seconds remain of this lost short about the famous garden scene in Romeo and Juliet

unknown director

A very lifelike picture of the famous New York politician and Tammany Hall boss. This picture was taken on Sunday morning [sic] as he was leaving the 14th Street Wigwam, accompanied by a number of prominent New York politicians.

Two cooks fight, one pushing the other into a barrel and pouring a saucepan of liquid over his head. 10 second fragment available in flipbook format, otherwise lost.

Vaudeville comedians Foottit and Chocolat hop and dance around and occasionally fight.

The second live-action Katzenjammer Kids film.

Drama by Walter R. Booth. Survival status unknown.

Madame Ondine performs a serpentine dance surrounded by big cats.

Two sets of images are superimposed. From the side, we see a two-masted ship. Across the deck walks a skeleton. It sits down, its legs akimbo. The legs separate and continue a dance while the body of the skeleton faces us and the skull moves its jaw bone. It rises and the legs rejoin the skull and body for an additional jig back and forth on deck.

A group of people cross a mountain near Chamonix and are filmed doing so by the Lumière brothers.

A movie fragment depicting an archaeological explorer entering a standing sarcophagus.

A trio of prankish boarders wreak havoc on their landlady and an intervening policeman.

A magician performs tricks involving three women, who are sometimes merged together into one corpulent female.

The reception to the future King Edward VII upon his arrival to Edinburgh in 1899.

The fairy at a cabbage patch hovers over the babies. This is a remake of Guy's 1896 film on the same subject, this time shot in 35 mm.

Recording of the dance Mesdemoiselles Lally and Juliette from the Olympia.

1900 Gaumont version of the ubiquitous Serpentine dance, this one hand tinted. Filmmaker anonymous. (not to be mistaken with Alice Guy-Blaché's version with Madame Ondine, from the same year and company)

A dramatic scene - and exactly what moving pictures were invented for. With a fixed camera and without a traditional narrative, this film nevertheless tells a compelling story as a cast of men and boys fight an impending crisis. It's not known whether this fire was real or staged, but the tension is palpable as horse after horse emerges from the smoking barn. There's even comedy in the foreground as one man loiters at the pump a little too long, sloshing bucketloads of water on to the ground. (BFI.org.uk)

Short film about the 25th anniversary celebration of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany.

Shot just a few days after the relief of Mafeking, this film captures the progress of British military personnel across the Vaal River in South Africa during the Boer War. Fording the river takes time, with so many ox- and mule-drawn wagons and an unwieldy observation balloon to boot. This footage was shot by London-born Joseph Rosenthal for the Warwick Trading Company - one of many films he made during the conflict.

Comic scenes taken at the Nouveau-Cirque by the two famous clowns Foottit and Chocolat. During a battle between Foottit and Chocolat, the latter, who received a slap, plays dead; a stretcher is brought in to carry it away, but the prankster passes under it and happily performs a few gambols while the carriers believe they are carrying away a corpse.”

“The filmmaker took several different scenes shot earlier between 1896 and 1899 and double-printed two sets of images together to create a new artistic creation. The transformation of a stage dance into a unique ciné-dance could only be possible in cinema - Bruce Posner

Carlotta Zambelli dances for the camera.

A splendid scene, showing a large number of curious Filipino boats being worked on the Pasig River near Manila by natives. The picture is unusually fine photographically.

Comic scenes taken at the Nouveau-Cirque by the two famous clowns Foottit and Chocolat. To separate Foottit and Chocolat who are fighting, their servant brings a policeman to whom the two accomplices play all sorts of tricks.

Traditional dance to a flute tune.

Possibly the sensation of the flight of a bird can be nearest realized by being on deck of one of the U.S. Government's fleet torpedo boats racing at its highest speed through the water. This picture was taken under these conditions and shows the beautiful scenery comprising the harbor of Newport, R. I. In the foreground, the spray of the vessel and the foam on the water gives a fair idea of the rapidity at which this boat is moving.

At the first news of the disast by cyclone and tidal wave that devastated Galveston on Saturday, September 8th, 1900, we equipped a party of photographers and sent them by special train to the scene of the ruins. Arriving at the scene of desolation shortly after the storm had swept over the city, our party succeeded, at the risk of life and limb, in taking about a thousand feet of motion pictures, although Galveston was under martial law and photographers were shot down at sight by the excited police. The series, taken as a whole, gives a definite idea of the most terrible disaster since the Johnstown flood of 1889.

Reconstructed from a late 1800s flip book. The given date is approximate

Photographed February-March, 1898 in Canton, China

A couple is attacked by warriors.

Reenactment of a scene from the Boxer Rebellion.

A scene takes place in front of a cafe; only one performer.

Directed by Robert W. Paul.