1896 to 1900 Video



Street scene-ParisYes, step back in time to view a video (old vintage reel film) taken of numerous world cities between 1896 and 1900. The use of motion picture equipment was very new in 1890s. So few films that were taken have even survived. So when one is available it is important to view and study what life was like over 100 years ago.

It was done by camera operators who were hired by the Lumiere Brothers’ Film Company. This was the company of Auguste and Louis Lumiere from France, who had learned of photographic equipment from their father. In 1895 they came up with a film camera, which used a film speed of 16 frames per second. They patented the Cinématographe.

 Street scene-Paris-2

They then went to many locations or sent our their camera operators to film regular day life in various cities. The locations include:

Paris, France – especially the Eiffel Tower / Dresden / Piazza del Duomo, Milan / Palace of Westminster, London / Chain Bridge, Budapest / Grand Place, Brussels / Nice, France / Piazza San Marco, Venice / Barcelona / Istanbul / Brooklyn, New York / Egypt / Martyrs’ Square, Beirut / Jerusalem.

Street scene-LondonSince filming was so new it is interesting to see the expressions on people’s faces as they have this camera aimed at them.

There is no audio just the moving pictures of the many locations. The total film length is just under 6 minutes – quite long for the time period since most early films were only a few seconds.

So sit back an enjoy seeing another era.

 

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