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Early Movies
WARNING, SOME OF THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS ARE SLOW LOADING BECAUSE THEY ARE QUITE LARGE. AFTER YOU CLICK ON ONE YOU CAN MOVE YOUR POINTER TO THE TOP OF YOUR BROWSER TO SEE THE HOUR GLASS AS EVIDENCE OF LOADING. A BROADBAND CONNECTION IS PREFERRED. I have always been fascinated by ancient films. I like seeing what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I found some great old movies that I have posted here that go a long way in showing that way of life.
Automobile Parade 1900 Thomas A. Edison Inc. Isn't this video great? I guess you can't help but notice how almost all of the automobiles are open? At first viewing I thought that it was snowing but then I realized it was just the bad quality of the film. Did you also notice how proud the couples looked and how straight up they were sitting. It must have been quite a status symbol to own a car in those times. Some of those old cars looked like wagons, others looked like coaches without horses and still others looked like the fore runners of modern cars. You will notice several cars with the driver on top and in the back while the passengers sat below in the cab. These automobiles, I believe, were the first New York City taxi cabs.
New York City Fire Parade 1904 by Thomas A. Edison Inc There is some really great horse drawn fire equipment displayed in this parade. Notice that there were only 2 motor vehicles shown and they may have been electric, I'm not sure about this.
Electric Trolley 1897 Thomas A. Edison Inc. It's hard to believe that we can actually watch people from 1897 but here is the proof. This early electric trolley was more like an electric train except for the fact that it hooked to wires above it for power. This system was used on trolleys for many years.
Auto Boat Race 1904 Thomas A. Edison Inc. Did you know that they raced powered speed boats in 1904? I am the first to admit I didn't think they did, but here is a film from that year plainly showing some pretty nifty craft zipping along in a speed boat race.
Baseball 1898 Thomas A. Edison Inc. For all you baseball fans out there take a look at this short film. Dig those uniforms. You get a great view of one of the runners, it is very clear for an old film.
Women Working In A Factory 1904 American Mutoscope & Biograph Company It must have been tough working in a factory at the beginning of the 20th century. Notice how closely the workers were watched.
Lurtine Baths 1897 Thomas A Edison Inc. All was not work, there seems to have been some fun also, as witnesses by this movie.
Those were the days when fish was relatively cheap and meat was expensive. If any of those people were alive today they would be shocked at the price turn around. Well I guess this is enough nostalgia. One thing about these old films, as time goes by they will become more and more valuable to historians. Until the invention of the motion picture no one could actually see how people lived. They had to surmise it from records and paintings or sculptures that were left behind. Just think if we could have had movies of the ancient Egyptians, Romans or Greeks. We would have learned so much more. |
