Collection Items

  • Film, Video
    Interior N.Y. subway, 14th St. to 42nd St
    Interior New York subway, Fourteenth Street to Forty-second Street | Title from Biograph production log: Interborough Subway 8 from 14th St. to 42nd St | Variant title from Biograph production log: Interborough subway from 14th St. to 42nd St | Variant title from the Internet movie database: New York subway | Variant title from the Internet movie database: In the N.Y. subway | Variant title from the Internet movie database: Interboro subway | Interborough Subway 8 from 14th St. to 42nd St | Interborough subway from 14th St. to 42nd St | New York subway | In the N.Y. subway | Interboro subway
    The camera platform was on the front of a New York subway train following another train on the same track. Lighting is provided by a specially constructed work car on a parallel track. At the time of filming, the subway was only seven months old, having opened on October 27, 1904. The ride begins at 14th Street (Union Square) following the route of today's...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905
  • Film, Video
    Pilot boats in New York harbor A New York harbor pilot boat passes close enough for members of the crew to be seen [Frame: 0471]. Following the sailing vessel is a steamship [Frame: 0780]. "A close view of an eighty footer, schooner-rigged, trim as a private yacht, skimming over the waters of the harbor near Robin's Reef [i.e., Robbins Reef], which picturesque little lighthouse is seen in the near background....
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - White, James - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1899-01-01
  • Film, Video
    A street Arab "Shows one of New York's street gamins going through various acrobatic evolutions; he turns handsprings backward and forward, walks the crab, does cart wheels and other kindred feats. An exceptionally unique part of the performance is his standing on his head and twisting around like a top. It is safe to say he will be bald-headed at an early age"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Afi/Holt (H.L.) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1898-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Sleighing scene "A view taken on the West Side Drive in Central Park. Shows a continuous stream of handsome rigs and turnouts passing in both directions. Pedestrians watch the gay carnival. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1898-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Opening the Williamsburg Bridge
    Opening of the Williamsburg Bridge | Opening of the New Williamsburg Bridge
    The film was shot on the roadway of the newly constructed Williamsburg Bridge. The first people to come into view are press photographers carrying large wooden "box" cameras [Frame: 0690]. Next, a parade of dignitaries and military representatives, accompanied by members of the press [1310], is photographed passing the camera position led by a standard bearer whose banner reads "MAYOR" [0902]. The mayor of...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama from the tower of Brooklyn Bridge
    Panorama from the tower of the Brooklyn Bridge | At the top of Brooklyn Bridge | Bird's eye view of N.Y. from Brooklyn Bridge | View from Bklyn Bridge tower in Bklyn | View from Brooklyn Bridge tower in Brooklyn
    The view was taken from the tower on the Brooklyn side of the bridge. As the film begins, the camera is looking southwest, towards the southern tip of Manhattan (the Battery). The camera pans very rapidly north following Manhattan's East River shoreline, across the bridge span itself and the bridge's New York side tower, following the shoreline further north towards Corlear's Hook, where the...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope Company
    • Date: 1899-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Delivering newspapers
    Distributing a war extra | Delivering a war extra on Union Square | World news wagon
    The film shows a group of about fifty pre-adolescent boys running and crowding around a one-horse paneled newspaper van that pulls up in the foreground of the picture. On the side of the van is a sign reading "New York World." As they gather around the rear of the vehicle, a fight breaks out between two of the boys. The film ends as the...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Marvin, Arthur W.
    • Date: 1899-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Beginning of a skyscraper
    Starting a skyscraper
    The scene is an excavation site in New York City. A large group of workmen with picks and shovels are digging. Carts drawn by pairs of horses can be seen emerging from the smoke in the background. "Taken in the immense excavation for the foundation of the new Macy Building at the corner of Broadway and 34th Street, New York. An excellent study of...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Parade of horses on Speedway
    Speedway parade | Parade on the Speedway
    The film is of the third annual parade of the Road Drivers Association of New York. A procession of fine horses and fashionable carriages move along the Harlem River Speedway, in the Highbridge section of northern Manhattan. The view is from the Manhattan side of the river looking north. On the right is the Harlem River and on the opposite bank, the Bronx. Prominent...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Skating on lake, Central Park
    Skating in Central Park | Skating in Central Park, N.Y. City | Skating on 72nd St. lake Central Park
    The view is of a frozen lake in Central Park crowded with ice skaters. The film is of such poor quality that it is difficult to tell if the apparent "snow" is real or just scratches on the film.
    • Contributor: Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    N.Y. Fire Department returning
    New York Fire Department returning | Return of the fire departmant | Return of N.Y. Fire Dept
    Shows several pieces of horse-drawn fire vehicles in motion: two hook-and-ladders [Frame: 0114, 0905]; two steam pumpers [0373, 1111]; a rescue wagon [0549]. Children hang onto the back of some of the vehicles [0195, 0970].
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Statue of Liberty A three-quarter front view of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was erected twelve years earlier, in 1886.
    • Contributor: American Vitagraph Company - Smith, Albert E. (Albert Edward) - Blackton, James Stuart - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1898-01-01
  • Film, Video
    A perilous proceeding The film follows a group of approximately ten men who are suspended on the cable of a large crane atop a building under construction. As the men are lifted over the site and gradually lowered, they wave to the camera.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Congdon, James - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Broadway & Union Square, New York
    Broadway and Union Square, New York | Scene on Broadway
    A horse-drawn street car with a sign for Broadway pulls away from the camera with a full compliment of passengers. Another approaches the camera position and they pass. The first car stops to pick up and drop off passengers. Pedestrians walk pass on both sides of the street.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Marvin, Arthur W.
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Automobile parade
    Parade of automobiles
    The first annual automobile parade, held on November 4, 1899 by the Automobile Club of America, in downtown Manhattan. At least ten different makes and models are seen, including electric and steam powered machines. In the background is Madison Square Garden. As the cars pass, turning towards the right side of the screen, cyclists and pedestrians can also be seen, including a man on...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Paley, William Daly
    • Date: 1900-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Bargain day, 14th Street, New York
    Bargain day, Fourteenth Street, New York | Bargain day on Fourteenth St., New York | Bargain day on 14th St., New York
    The film shows hundreds of tightly packed people crowding into the front door of the Rothschild Co. 5 and 10 cent store. They are so closely packed it is difficult to tell one from another. The view is from across the street, looking down from the 2nd floor.
    • Contributor: Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Buffalo Bill's Wild West parade
    Parade of Buffalo Bill's Wild West
    The film shows a parade down Fifth Avenue, New York. In the foreground many children, both black and white, can be seen following alongside the parade. The participants in the parade include cowboys, Indians, and soldiers in the uniform of the United States Cavalry on horseback and riding horse-drawn coaches. Buffalo Bill can be seen on horseback, lifting his hat to the crowd.
    • Contributor: Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1901-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Elevated railroad, New York
    Around the big curves | Elevated R.R. 110 St. curve, New York City | Around the big curves on the Manhattan Elevated R.R.
    Taken from the front end of a locomotive following an express train at high speed around the high curves of the Ninth Avenue Elevated, from the 104th to 116th Street station. This section, with its reverse curve, is known as "The Big Loop", and is the highest (at over 100 feet) and most dangerous section on the New York Elevated. During the trip, Grant's...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope Company
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Emigrants [i.e. immigrants] landing at Ellis Island
    Immigrants landing at Ellis Island | Emigrants landing at Ellis Island
    "Shows a large open barge loaded with people of every nationality, who have just arrived from Europe, disembarking at Ellis Island, N.Y. A most interesting and typical scene. Length 140 feet"-Edison films catalog. The film opens with a view of the steam ferryboat "William Myers," laden with passengers, approaching a dock at the Ellis Island Immigration Station. The vessel is docked, the gangway is...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Abadie, Alfred C. (Alfred Camille)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Lower Broadway
    Street scene on Lower Broadway, N.Y. City | Scene on Lower Broadway
    "A busy street scene on Lower Broadway, New York City"--American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue, November, 1902.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Move on Filmed in New York's Lower East Side, the scene is a street where several pushcart vendors have gathered to sell their goods. In the foreground are fruit and vegetable carts. An elevated railroad track crosses over the street in the background. As the film progresses, two policemen can be seen heading up the street toward the camera and ordering all of the vendors to...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Abadie, Alfred C. (Alfred Camille)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    New York City dumping wharf The film shows a wharf where a barge is being loaded with trash from two-wheeled, horse-drawn wagons. The trash is dumped off the edge of the pier onto the barge, where men with shovels are spreading the piles of debris. The camera pans left to the next barge, where four-wheeled carts are shown dumping excavation rubble. Probably filmed on the East River, this is...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    New York police parade, June 1st, 1899
    N.Y. police parade, June 1st, 1899
    "An excellent view of "The Finest," on their annual parade and inspection, June 1, 1899. The head of the column is just turning into 14th Street from Broadway, the Morton House forming part of the background. Crowds line both sides of the cable car tracks, falling back as the band heading the first division swings around Dead Man's Curve and passes the camera. Chief...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1899-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama of Flatiron Building
    Eighth wonder | Flatiron Building panorama
    This shows a view looking south from Madison Square, across the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and Twenty-third Street, to New York's famous skyscraper, the Fuller (or "Flatiron") Building, with a panorama of the surroundings. The cameraman elevates his camera, going from street level to the roof.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1902-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama of Riker's Island, N.Y. The film was photographed from a boat going around Riker's Island. Located on the East River north of Hell Gate between the Bronx and Queens, Riker's Island was the site of a massive, controversial New York City landfill operation at the time of the filming. Includes scenes of heavy equipment at work, including pile drivers constructing the seawall and steam shovels unloading rubbish from...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama water front and Brooklyn Bridge from East River
    Panorama waterfront and Brooklyn Bridge from East River
    This film depicts the East River shoreline and the piers of lower Manhattan starting at about Pier 5 (the New York Central Pier) opposite Broad Street, and extending to the Mallory Line steamship piers just south of Fulton Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. The film begins with shots of canal boats or barges (from the Erie Canal via the Hudson River) docked at and...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Parade of "exempt" firemen The film shows a large group of people watching the approach of a color guard followed by a number of elderly marching firemen [Frame: 1734] pulling antique fire equipment [2486]. In the background is the white marble Washington Arch [0116], designed by Stanford White and completed in 1895 to commemorate the first inauguration of George Washington.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Sorting refuse at incinerating plant, New York City The subject is a group of about thirty men and boys who are sorting combustible refuse, mostly paper, and stuffing it into large sacks. In the background a man in a hat with an emblem on it can be seen unloading trash from a large wagon.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Star Theatre
    Star Theater
    Using time-lapse photography, the film shows the demolition of the famous Star Theatre. Judging from the various exposures, the work must have gone on for a period of approximately thirty days. The theater opened in 1861 as "Wallack's Theatre," and was re-christened the "Star" in 1883. It was well known for it's excellent productions, and a number of celebrated actors and actresses worked there,...
    • Contributor: Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1902
  • Film, Video
    What happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City
    What happened on 23rd Street, New York City
    "The scene as suggested by the title is made on 23d Street, New York City. In front of one of the large newspaper offices on that thoroughfare is a hot air shaft through which immense volumes of air is forced by means of a blower. Ladies crossing these shafts often have their clothes slightly disarranged, (it may be said much to their discomfiture). As...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1901-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Arrival of emigrants [i.e. immigrants], Ellis Island
    Arrival of immigrants, Ellis Island | Arrival of emigrants, Ellis Island
    Depicts scenes at the Immigration Depot and a nearby dock on Ellis Island. Appears to show, first, a group of immigrants lined up to board a vessel leaving the island, then another group arriving at the island and being directed off of the dock and into the Depot by a uniformed official.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906-01-01
  • Film, Video
    At the foot of the Flatiron
    Windy day at the Flatiron
    This street level view is of the Broadway side of the Flatiron, or Fuller Building, near the narrow north corner. Filmed on a very windy day, pedestrians of various descriptions are seen passing by the camera, clutching hats and skirts against the wind. According to some New York City historians, this corner was known as the windiest corner of the city, and in the...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Departure of Peary [and the] "Roosevelt" from New York
    Departure of Peary [and] Roosevelt from New York | Departure of Peary for the North Pole
    The camera pans to show the schooner "Roosevelt" docked at a covered pier on the Hudson River on Manhattan's west side. Then, from a camera position on board, men in straw hats and fashionably dressed ladies are seen boarding the ship. Next, the famous polar explorer Robert Peary appears on the gangway in a dark jacket, mustache and straw hat. He tips his hat,...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Excavating for a New York foundation
    Lifting a wagon from a New York foundation
    The scene is an excavation pit at an unidentified New York City construction site. A crew of six men can be seen shoveling dirt into a four-wheeled wooden cart. Then a full cart is slowly lifted out of the pit to street level by a steam-powered crane. These carts are similar in design to those shown dumping rubble at the end of the film...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Fireboat "New Yorker" in action
    Fireboat "New Yorker" in action--excerpts
    A demonstration by the famous fireboat "New Yorker." The picture shows the fireboat with all its nozzles spurting water as it goes back and forth in front of the camera. Put in service on February 1, 1891 as Engine Company 57, the "New Yorker" was stationed at the Battery near Castle Garden, where her crew lived aboard. She was 125 feet long, 25 feet...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Funeral of Hiram Cronk The film shows a city thoroughfare lined with crowds of people watching a military parade. The first group to come into view is a marching band, then a large formation of soldiers in the uniform of Rough Riders. Following them is a hearse drawn by four black horses, escorted by veterans of the Civil War, and horse-drawn open carriages. The camera position shifts and...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905-01-01
  • Film, Video
    New York City "ghetto" fish market "A fine panoramic view of this busy market on a Friday morning. Immense throngs of people are seen passing along the stands and making their selections of fish. A great character study. 165 feet"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Opening of new East River bridge, New York
    Opening new East River bridge, New York
    The first view is from the roadway of the Williamsburg Bridge on the day of the opening. Close-ups of the parading dignitaries and members of the press are seen. Mayor Seth Low is second from the left in the row of four men in top hats (James B. Reynolds, his personal secretary is on Low's right, and Manhattan Borough president, Jacob Cantor, is on...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama from Times Building, New York The view is from the top of the then newly-erected Times Building, at a height of approximately twenty stories. The film opens with a vertical pan, going from the street below up to the sky. The photographer then makes a pan to the north over the tops of the buildings from Bryant Park, south of 42nd Street (behind the New York Public Library) [Frame:...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - McCutcheon, Wallace - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Panorama of Blackwell's Island, N.Y. This film was photographed from a boat heading south along the eastern shore of Blackwell's Island (known today as Roosevelt Island). The island lies in the East River, between Manhattan (which can be seen in the background) and Long Island City, Queens. It is approximately one and three-quarters of a mile long, extending from 51st Street to 88th, and at the time of the...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Pennsylvania Tunnel excavation This film employs a 180-degree pan shot of the excavation site of New York's Pennsylvania Station, and includes shots of the narrow-gauge train used to haul debris from the tunnels under construction. Work began in 1904, and when completed in September of 1910 the station would span from 31st to 33rd Streets, and from 7th to 8th Avenue, an area of approximately 300,000 square...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1905-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Sky scrapers of New York City, from the North River Filmed from a moving boat, the film depicts the Hudson River (i.e., North River) shoreline and the piers of lower Manhattan beginning around Fulton Street and extending to Castle Garden and Battery Park. It begins at one of the American Line piers (Pier 14 or 15, opposite Fulton Street) where an American Line steamer, either the "New York" or "Paris," is seen docked [Frame:...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Film, Video
    White Wings on review "A fine picture of the celebrated "White Wings" or street- cleaning department of one district of Greater New York, showing over 350 men in line, and over 100 carts that are used to carry the refuse away to the dumping wharf, marching through the streets of New York. Length 225 feet"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Smith, James Blair
    • Date: 1903-01-01
  • Collection
    The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906 This collection contains forty-five films of New York dating from 1898 to 1906 from the Paper Print Collection of the Library of Congress. Of these, twenty-five were made by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, while the remaining twenty are Edison Company productions.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. National Digital Library Program - Library of Congress. Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division - Kleine (George) Collection (Library of Congress) - Afi/Post (George) Collection (Library of Congress) - Theodore Roosevelt Association Collection (Library of Congress) - Afi/Staples (Robert) & Charles (Barbara) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1897

    Collection Items: View 54 Items