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  • Film, Video
    Feeding sea gulls "A fine view of San Francisco Bay, from an Oakland ferryboat. Tug towing a scow passes by. Sea gulls sail through the air and dive into the seething wake of the boat. 40 feet"--Edison films catalog, no. 94. "Southern Pacific Company series: The Southern Pacific Company ("Sunset Route") offers special inducements to winter travelers, by reason of its southern route, thereby avoiding the extreme...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Bird's-eye view of San Francisco, Cal., from a balloon As early as 1874, passenger balloon flights were being made over San Francisco. San Franciscans - and Americans in general - were fascinated with the thrills and dangers of flight. Although balloon technology had not advanced greatly by the turn of the century, attempts at man-powered flight were sustaining public interest. The era of powered flight arrived in 1903 with the Wright brothers' flight...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1902
  • Film, Video
    The San Francisco disaster
    Formerly titled: Unidentified Staples & Charles. No. 1, San Francisco after the earthquake and fire of 1906 | Title in Lubin catalog 1907: San Francisco earthquake
    This film is made up of five panoramas, four wide and one close-up, of the ruins of downtown San Francisco shortly after the 1906 disaster, including a panorama and scene in a refugee camp. Note that the locations provided in the interior titles are incorrect for segments 1, 3, and 4. "Panorama of City Hall from Top of U.S. Mint." This right-to-left (north-to-northwest) panorama...
    • Contributor: Frawley, Jack - S. Lubin (Firm : Philadelphia, Pa.)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    TR at Sagamore Hill [1916]
    Roosevelt Memorial Association title: TR at Sagamore Hill, 1917-1918 | Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill, 1916
    On May 27, 1916, shortly before the Republican Party and Progressive Party conventions, the newly formed Roosevelt Non-Partisan League sponsors a demonstration of support for TR at Sagamore Hill. Many prominent men are included in the over 2,000 people who traveled from New York City to Oyster Bay to see TR and hear him speak on "Americanism." Panning shots of crowd gathered around porch;...
    • Contributor: Hurd, Richard M. (Richard Melancthon) - Roosevelt, Theodore - Theodore Roosevelt Association Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1915
  • Film, Video
    Over route of Roosevelt parade in an automobile This film is a review by automobile of the arrival parade route of President Theodore Roosevelt, on Tuesday, May 12, 1903. The film was shot from about 2:10 pm to 2:15 pm (shortly before the 3 pm parade) and shows street and building decorations and excited crowds. The portion of the route shown is in the heart of the downtown business district. The later...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Miles, Herbert J.
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Army pack train bringing supplies
    Variant title from the New York clipper, May 19, 1906: Army of pack train bringing supplies
    The first segment shows a series of loaded mule trains, guided by mules and horses. Many soldiers ride two-to-a-horse (or mule), possibly to facilitate quick unloading of supplies. Note the "Rough Rider"-style hats worn by many of the men. The dusty location is unclear; if the tower in the right distance is St. Boniface Church, the view could be west on Golden Gate Avenue...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Kleine (George) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    Troops embarking at San Francisco Shows troops of the First Regiment, California Volunteers, boarding the Pacific Mail steamer City of Peking to serve in the Philippine theater of the Spanish-American War. The film was shot at the Pacific Mail Steamship Company dock between 10:50am and 1:50pm on Friday, May 13, 1898. The dock was located at First Street between Brannan and Townsend streets. The camera is probably facing north.....
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    San Francisco's future By mid-1916, after viewing the carnage in Europe, the United States saw itself poised with great reluctance on the edge of participation in World War I. Isolationism and anti-preparedness feeling remained strong in San Francisco, not only among radicals such as the International Workers of the Worlds ("the Wobblies"), but also among responsible labor leaders. At the same time, with the rise of Bolshevism...
    • Contributor: Rodiester, Claire - Hearst, Phoebe Apperson - Afi/Post (George) Collection (Library of Congress) - Rolph, James
    • Date: 1916
  • Film, Video
    Panorama, Union Square, San Francisco
    Panorama of Union Square, San Francisco
    This film shows the crowd gathered in San Francisco for the dedication of the Dewey Monument in Union Square, on Thursday, May 14, 1903, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. The Monument, which is still in place, commemorates the victory of Admiral George Dewey and the American fleet over Spanish forces at Manila Bay, the Philippines, on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War....
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Miles, Herbert J.
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    San Francisco disaster
    Title from AFI catalog: film beginnings, 1893-1910: 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
    Scenes in San Francisco. [No. 2]
    Scenes of San Francisco | Title in Biograph bulletins 1896-1908: San Francisco
    Panoramas filmed in the ruins of downtown San Francisco and outlying refugee camps following the 1906 earthquake and fire. A scene-by-scene description of the film: [Frame: 0102] Begins with a long, pan of downtown ruins viewed from Natoma Street between 4th and 3rd streets. The pan is from left to right (west to northeast). Buildings of interest: The old San Francisco Mint, with classic...
    • Contributor: Gove, Otis M. (Otis Meader) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    Troop ships for the Philippines
    Troopships for the Philippines
    Shows the departure from San Francisco of two troop ships, the S.S. Australia and the S.S. City of Sydney, bound for Manila during the Spanish-American War. The first ship shown is the Australia with many troops on deck, some waving. The ship's name is visible on the hull at the end of the sequence. The second ship, the City of Sydney, is shown being...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Lurline Baths "A large indoor swimming pool can be seen. The camera was directed toward a slide from which people can be seen entering the pool in rapid succession"--Early motion pictures. "At San Francisco. The main feature is the toboggan slide which the bathers use, some sitting, others lying down, head first or feet first. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    Market Street before parade
    Variant title from Biograph production logs: Route of parade previous arrival of Pres. Roosevelt | Variant title from Biograph production logs: Route of president's parade
    This film is an automobile tour of a portion of the arrival parade route of President Theodore Roosevelt along Market Street, San Francisco, on Tuesday, May 12, 1903. The film was shot in the mid-afternoon, shortly before the parade, which traversed this portion of the route in the reverse direction shown here. The earlier portion of the route is seen in the film "Over...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Miles, Herbert J.
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Scenes in San Francisco. [No. 1]
    Scenes of San Francisco | Title in Biograph bulletins 1896-1908: San Francisco
    Views and pans among the ruins of San Francisco after the earthquake and fire. A scene-by-scene description of the film: [Frame: 0100] The camera, positioned at the southwest corner of Mission and 5th streets, makes a hurried and jerky pan from the east side of 5th Street eastward to the south side of Mission Street. At the start of the pan, the ruined Lincoln...
    • Contributor: Gove, Otis M. (Otis Meader) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    S.S. "Coptic" at dock
    Steamship "Coptic" at dock
    From F.Z. Maguire catalogue: Taken at the docks of the Pacific Steamship Co., San Francisco, Cal., which is operated in connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. The "Coptic" is one of the best appointed, largest and fastest vessels that traverse the Pacific Ocean, and this view was taken as she was leaving for a voyage to the Sandwich Islands, Japan and China. The...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Bld'g
    Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Building
    The camera, placed on the east side of 4th Street near Natoma Street, one and two-thirds blocks south of Market Street, pans a full 240 degrees, from southwest to southeast. The pan begins in the southwest, viewing two 550,000 cubic foot, 45' diameter frames of gas tanks of the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company at 5th and Folsom streets. The dome of the...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Kleine (George) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    S.S. "Coptic" sailing away
    Steamship "Coptic" sailing away
    From F.Z. Maguire catalogue: Shows the vessel after she has been fully turned and on her way across the Pacific. The boat shows large and clear with smoke coming from the stack. In the foreground is a constantly changing crowd of people composed of men, women and children. Action is added by some late comers who rush to the dock to wave their last...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    After launching "Taken near the Union Works, San Francisco, Cal., immediately after the launching of the Japanese Man-of-war "Chitose." The scene opens with the pleasure yacht "Unadilla" passing in the immediate foreground, her decks loaded with passengers. The boat slowly passes, until the stern is directly to the audience. The water in the wake of the yacht is churned by her screw propeller into a milky...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Cupid and Psyche
    Variant title from Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900: Cupid and Psyche dance
    "An original dance by the Leander Sisters, performed at the Sutro Baths, San Francisco, Cal. One is dressed as Cupid, with the accompanying wings, bow and arrow; the other represents Psyche. The dance is full of grace and action and the figures show life size and very clear. The costumes are white and show up in beautiful contrast to the dark background, which is...
    • Contributor: White, James H. (James Henry) - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Blechynden, Frederick - Leander Sisters - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Afi/Holt (H.L.) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    Sutro Baths
    Title in Edison films catalog: Sutro Baths, no. 2
    "Another view in which the figures show larger. A springboard furnishes the bathers with much amusement; also a toboggan slide. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog. "A large indoor swimming pool is shown, as well as the walkways that separate the varying depths of the water, and a sign identifying the locale on the wall farthest from the camera position. In the immediate foreground, camera right...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    S.S. "Coptic" in the harbor
    Steamship "Coptic" in the harbor
    From F.Z. Maguire catalogue: Shows the vessel away from the dock and slowly turning. The vessel is seen to good advantage, the four masts, smokestack and hull being faithfully reproduced. Clouds of smoke pour out of the funnel, and volumes of steam out of the exhaust pipe. In the foreground is a dense crowd, among which are numerous Chinamen. Clear and sharp with figures...
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Article
    San Francisco earthquake and fire, April 18, 1906 Shows the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, and the devastation resulting from the subsequent three-day fire. The earthquake struck at 5:12 a.m. San Francisco, with thousands of unreinforced brick buildings, and closely-spaced wooden Victorian dwellings, was poorly prepared for a major fire. The scenes in the film are preceded by interior titles, many of which are sensationalized. One scene...
    • Date: 1906
  • Film, Video
    Sutro Baths, no. 1 "One of the sights of San Francisco. A 50-foot slide is used by the bathers, who toboggan down its slippery surface in all positions. The bathers are clad in black trunks, making fine contrast with the flesh tints. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog. "In the background are three tiers of spectators watching the bathers. There are many people bathing and diving into the swimming pool....
    • Contributor: Blechynden, Frederick - Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    Panorama of beach and Cliff House
    Panoramic view of beach and Cliff House
    This film is an afternoon panorama of weekend crowds at the north end of Ocean Beach, the western shore of San Francisco near the famed Cliff House. The film postdates the nearby Dutch Windmill (1902) and predates the burning of this Cliff House (1907). Until the 1920s much of western San Francisco was open sand dunes blown inland from Ocean Beach, the five-mile-long untamed...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Miles, Herbert J.
    • Date: 1903