Search Films, Videos

  • Film, Video
    Street mail car, U.S.P.O.
    Street mail car, United States Post Office | Title in Biograph production log: Street mail car and mail wagon | Street mail car and mail wagon
    "The first scene appears to have been taken on a main thoroughfare of large city. In the immediate foreground is a horse-drawn U.S. mail vehicle waiting at the side of a streetcar track. Soon a streetcar approaches the camera position. It stops beside the mail vehicle and the driver unloads mail sacks from the streetcar. He then puts some sacks from his wagon onto...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Dance, Franchonetti Sisters
    Variant title from American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue: Dance, Franchenette Sisters | Dance, Franchenette Sisters
    Three young women with dark, curly hair stand on a stage with a black background and patterned carpet or tile underfoot. They wear tights, ballet shoes, and frilly dresses to the knee with multiple petticoats and ruffled drawers. They begin by raising their right legs up by their heads, and then perform a dance with a variety of kicks and leg movements, their hands...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Levi & Cohen, the Irish comedians
    Levi and Cohen, the Irish comedians
    Opens on a vaudeville or variety stage with a flat painted curtain of a stone fence and garden. On the right side of the stage sits a sign that reads "Zuzu Daffy, Singing Soubret." A boy in an usher's uniform crosses the stage and replaces the sign with one that reads "Levi and Cohen, Irish Comedians." The boy exits, and the curtain rises to...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • 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
    U.S. battleship "Oregon"
    United States battleship "Oregon" | Title in American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue: Battleship "Oregon" | Battleship "Oregon"
    "This picture of the pride of the United States Navy was made on the occasion of the Peace Jubilee in New York City, and was taken from a tug passing the warship on its way up the North River. The entire crew are on deck, and a beautiful view of this wonderful craft is afforded"--American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue. Views on the starboard...
    • Contributor: Theodore Roosevelt Association Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope Company
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Scene in Chinatown This film was shot in an alley of San Francisco's Chinatown on Saturday, September 15, 1900, at midday. The topography of the site (sloping down to the far street), the width of the alley, the location of utility poles [Frame: 0255], and the location of buildings across the far street suggest that the view is north from Washington Street down Washington Place (today's Wentworth...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Ackerman, Raymond - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1900
  • Film, Video
    Exchange of mail at rural P.O., U.S.P.O.
    Title from the Biograph picture catalog: Exchanging of mail by wagon | Title from the Biograph production log: Exchange of mail at P.O. by rural wagon | Exchange of mail at rural post office, U.S.P.O. | Exchanging of mail by wagon | Exchange of mail at P.O. by rural wagon
    "The opening scene shows a yard in front of what seems to be a two-story house. A small boy is standing in front of the house near a post box fastened to one of the columns supporting the roof of the building. A horse-drawn rural delivery wagon drives up and a man gets out, delivers mail, gets back in, and drives the wagon out...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Foxy Grandpa and Polly in a little hilarity
    Shooting title in Biograph Co. prod. records [MI]: Grandpa & Polly in a little hilarity (dance) | Grandpa & Polly in a little hilarity (dance)
    Opens on a stage with a stone fence and a painted backdrop of a forest or garden. Husband and wife team of Hart and DeMar as cartoon characters Foxy Grandpa and Polly enter hand-in-hand from behind the fence. Grandpa has a bald pate with bushy white hair on the sides, a big bulbous nose, and a potbelly, dressed in a light-colored suit with a...
    • Contributor: Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Brady, William A. - Hart, Joseph - Bonine, R. (Robert K.) - Demar, Carrie - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bunny
    • Date: 1902
  • Film, Video
    Ameta
    Shooting title in Biograph production records: Ameta the lily dance | Ameta the lily dance
    Two large squares of white fabric completely cover a woman standing on a stage with a paneled wall as a backdrop. The fabric is supported in front and back of her by some sort of flexible poles along the top edge. The woman bends these rods and peaks out from the resulting hole, with her head and neck visible. She then performs what appears...
    • Contributor: Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Ameta
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Alphonse and Gaston, no. 3
    Copyright title: Alphonse and Gaston 3 | Title in Biograph production logs: Alphonse & Gaston | Title in Biograph bulletins, 1896-1908: Alphonse and Gaston take a dancing lesson | Alphonse and Gaston 3 | Alphonse & Gaston | Alphonse and Gaston take a dancing lesson
    Opens on a set of a saloon or tavern with a long bar and pictures on the wall that include boxers, a ballerina, and a reclining female. At the end of the bar stands the bartender, reading a newspaper. Two men dressed as the clownish characters of Alphonse and Gaston enter the bar. Both have dark, bushy hair and beards and wear hats, with...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Pres. Roosevelt's Fourth of July oration
    President Roosevelt's Fourth of July oration | President Roosevelt's 4th of July oration | Pres. Roosevelt's 4th of July oration
    President Theodore Roosevelt eats and then speaks to a crowd who have gathered to hear him. From another camera position, the crowd bids him farewell as Roosevelt and his party enter a horse-drawn carriage and leave the vicinity.
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Wounded soldiers embarking in row boats "This picture was taken after the Battle of Las Guaymas [i.e., Las Guásimas], and shows a large number of wounded soldiers embarking in a rowboat from an extemporized dock, on their way to the hospital ship "Olivette." A high sea was rolling in at the time, which made embarkation exceedingly difficult, and the pitiful condition of the wounded soldiers under such conditions can readily...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope Company - Marvin, Arthur W.
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Empire State Express "The film opens on a scene of a railroad section gang mending tracks on a curved area. In the distane a locomotive can be seen approaching the camera position. As it goes by the camera, four cars can be counted, in addition to the locomotive. The track workers wave and cheer, and the white-coated Pullman porters standing on the steps of each car wave...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Dickson, W. K.-L. (William Kennedy-Laurie) - American Mutoscope Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1896
  • Film, Video
    Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Westinghouse Co. works (moulding scene)
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Westinghouse Co. no. 3, moulding machine | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse Co. no. 3, moulding machine | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    Men working in teams carry buckets of molten material and pour the material into what appear to be molds lined up on the ground.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    A nymph of the waves "This is a double-printing picture combining a view of Mlle. Cathrina Bartho in her celebrated "Speedway" dance, with one of the Whirlpool Rapids of Niagara Falls, the resulting effect being that the dancer appears to be gliding over the surface of the rushing waters. 25 feet"--American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue. Superimposition of a woman dancing over footage of crashing waves from the rapids...
    • Contributor: Bartho, Cathrina - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1900
  • Film, Video
    San Francisco disaster
    Title from AFI catalog: film beginnings, 1893-1910: San Francisco | San Francisco
    This film shows the partial burning of a small-scale model of downtown San Francisco in an early attempt at simulating the 1906 disaster. The model is seen in aerial view from above the South-of-Market district, looking northwest toward Market Street and the downtown area. Russian Hill (left) and Telegraph Hill (right) are shown in a painted background. The Call Building at 3rd and Market...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    Boys diving, Honolulu A large group of small boys stand on a pier, sillhouetted against the sky. In the distance, six large clipper ships can be seen at anchor. The boys jump and dive into the water, apparently to retrieve coins that are being thrown by someone offscreen.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1901
  • 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
    Train taking up mail bag, U.S.P.O.
    Train taking up mail bag, United States Post Office
    "The subject of this Postal Department documentary is "snatching" the mail bag from the suspended post by the railroad mail clerk. As the film begins, a man climbs the steps leading to the device that suspends the mail bag in the air. A train can be seen in the distance approcaching the mail bag. At the end of the film, the mail bag is...
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • 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
    Loading sugar cane "The short length of this films leaves much to be desired to give proper description. However, it is possible to see a large receiving car in a cane brake where several people are visible chopping cane and carrying it to the receiver. There is one person wearing white trousers, a blue coat, and a straw hat who comes from behind the camera position and...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Bonine, R. (Robert K.)
    • Date: 1902
  • Film, Video
    Throwing mail into bags, U.S.P.O.
    Title from Biograph production log: Throwing mail into bags for destination | Throwing mail into bags for destination
    "This film concerns the separation of mail parcels before distribution. A semicircular rack of mail bags, each tagged with a different location, is placed on a set of the interior of a postal building. Two postal employees throw packages of envelopes brought to them by another employee into the marked mail bags"--Early motion pictures.
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Westinghouse Co. works (casting scene)
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Westinghouse Air Brake Co. casting machine | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse Air Brake Co. casting machine | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    What appear to be molds pass by some men on conveyor belts. The men take them off the belt and dump the contents onto the ground. Other men pick up with tongs the parts that have been dumped onto the ground and put them on a pile in the foreground.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Lathrop School, calisthenics
    Title in AFI catalog, film beginnings, 1893-1910: Lathrop School, calisthenics, Missouri Commission | Lathrop School, calisthenics, Missouri Commission
    A group of preadolescent boys and girls is standing in a row facing the camera position. In back of them is a wall on which is written "Kansas City, Mo." As the film progresses, the students go through a series of calisthenics, performing them in unison, and continue this throughout the film.
    • Contributor: Weed, A. E. - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Missouri. Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • 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