Photo sequence of the rare transit of Venus over the face of the Sun, one of the first chronophotographic sequences. In 1873, P.J.C. Janssen, or Pierre Jules César Janssen, invented the Photographic Revolver, which captured a series of images in a row. The device, automatic, produced images in a row without human intervention, being used to serve as photographic evidence of the passage of Venus before the Sun, in 1874.
Lost film from 1888, directed by William Friese-Greene.
The last remaining film of Le Prince's LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera is a sequence of frames of his son, Adolphe Le Prince, playing a diatonic button accordion. It was recorded on the steps of the house of Joseph Whitley, Adolphe's grandfather.
A horse with rider jumping over an obstacle. A scientific film made for the Prussian army to help their soldiers improve their horseback riding technique.
A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.
One of the first movies ever made.
Lost film from 1891, directed by William K.L. Dickson and William Heise. The film stars James C. Duncan.
Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.
Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.
William K.L. Dickson brings his hat from his one hand to the other and moves his head slightly, as a small nod toward the audience. This was the first film produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company to be shown to public audiences and the press.
Georges Demenÿ saying “Je vous aime”
William K.L. Dickson and William Heise shake hands in this early experimental film.
Early Edison short showing two men fencing.
Short film of 300 individually painted images.
“Interior of Barber Shop. Man comes in, takes off his coat; sits down, smokes; is handed a paper by attendant, who points out a joke; both laugh. Meantime the man in the chair is shaved and has his hair cut. Very funny.” (Edison's Latest Wonders, 1894)
The Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete".
Luis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
Directed by Étienne-Jules Marey, a French scientist, this is believed to be the first cat ever filmed in cinematic history. Jules Marey created the chronophotographic gun in 1882, a device which looked like a short barrelled shotgun with a magazine on top. It was capable of taking twelve consecutive frames a second. He used this to study various animals, the most famous study in what was called Marey’s ‘animated zoo’, was the one involving a cat which was dropped from a height of a few feet in order to see if it always landed on its feet.
Two gamecocks fight in the Edison Company film studio. This feature was remade later in the same year, with additional detail added.
Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dances. For this performance, her costume has a pair of wings attached to her back, to suggest a butterfly. As she dances, she uses her long, flowing skirts to create visual patterns.