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  • Film, Video
    U.S. cruiser "Raleigh"
    United States cruiser "Raleigh"
    "A panoramic view of the "Raleigh" as she lies at anchor off 27th Steet, North River, April 17, 1899. Captain Coghlan stands among a group of officers near the bridge. The "Raleigh" fired the first gun at Manila, and is the first boat of the Pacific Squadron visiting New York. All the details of the famous battleship are clearly shown as the launch from...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1899
  • Film, Video
    Admiral Cigarette
    We all smoke
    In front of a large backdrop with the words "Admiral Cigarette" are four people in costume: Uncle Sam, a clergyman, an Indian, and a businessman. To their left is a very large Admiral Cigarette box, that breaks apart to reveals a girl, attired in a striking costume, smoking a cigarette. She goes to the men and hands each a cigarette. As she moves back...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Heise, William
    • Date: 1897
  • Film, Video
    Auto boat race on the Hudson "The new-fangled high-speed launches which are now the fad of sporting millionaires make an admirable subject for the moving picture camera, and this film shows the best of them in a race for the American championship, the prize being a massive solid gold cup. Among the boats shown are W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr.'s "Hard Boiled Egg," "The Standard," which won the championship, and has never...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • 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
    U.S. Infantry supported by Rough Riders at El Caney
    United States Infantry supported by Rough Riders at El Caney
    "Up the road comes a detachment of infantry, firing, advancing, kneeling and firing, again and again. The advance of the foot soldiers is followed by a troop of Rough Riders, riding like demons, yelling and firing revolvers as they pass out of sight. Other troops follow in quick succession, pressing on to front. 100 feet"--Edison films catalog.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - New Jersey. National Guard - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1899
  • 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
    Procession of floats "Taken at San Francisco, Cal., at the Golden Jubilee. In the foreground are seen crowds of people, all being very close to the camera. The first float is drawn by four white horses and is at least twenty feet long. It carries a full load of little school girls, who sit along its full length facing the sides of the street. This is followed...
    • 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
    Trapeze disrobing act Camera is positioned as if in the audience at a vaudeville show. Two men in rough clothing are visible in a box on the left as a woman sits on a trapeze over the stage. Fully dressed in street clothing, the trapeze artist removes her jacket and hat before performing a flip. She subsequently removes more clothing, including her corset, which she throws to...
    • 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: 1901
  • Film, Video
    Bicycle trick riding, no. 2
    Title in Edison films catalog, no. 105: Bicycle trick riding
    Opens with a man riding a bicycle in a backwards circle, on a stage with a painted backdrop of a city street. He dismounts, then remounts the cycle and rides in a forwards circle, pausing and balancing for a moment as he rears up and spins the front wheel. Continuing in the circle, the man moves in front of the handlebars and continues pedaling...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Neidert, Eugene A. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1899
  • Film, Video
    Wreck of the battleship "Maine"
    Variant title in Edison motion pictures 1890-1900: Wreck of the "Maine" in Havana Harbor
    "Taken in Havana Harbor from a moving launch, and shows the wreck of the "Maine" surrounded by wrecking boats and other vessels. The warped and twisted remains show how thoroughly this immense mass of iron and steel was blown out of all semblance of a vessel. The background of this picture is formed by the shores of Havana Harbor, and as the yacht moves...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Paley, William Daly
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Street car chivalry "Scene shows interior of crowded street-car. A young lady enters and every man in the car offers her his seat. Presently an elderly stout lady with arm full of bundles enters. All male passengers immediately bury their faces in their papers, while the lady swings on the strap. A sudden jerk of the car lands her in the lap of a dude, much to...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Arabian gun twirler A bearded man performs a rifle twirling act on a stage with a painted backdrop of a city street corner. He wears a white turban and a dark two-piece costume of tunic and baggy pants that narrow at the knees; perhaps the costume of an Arab infantryman. The tricks he performs include throwing the spinning rifle in the air and catching it; twirling the...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Cheriff, Hadji - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1899
  • 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
    A storm at sea "While our photographers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean a most wonderful and sensational picture was secured, showing a storm at sea. The picture was secured by lashing the camera to the after bridge of the Kaiserine Maria Theresa, of the North German Lloyd Line, during one of its roughest voyages. The most wonderful storm picture ever photographed. Taken at great risk. 100 feet"--Edison films...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Abadie, Alfred C. (Alfred Camille) - White, James H. (James Henry)
    • Date: 1900
  • Film, Video
    Transport "Whitney" leaving dock "This boat was the first one to leave for the South with troops. On board is a battalion of the 5th U.S. Infantry. She is a sidewheeler, and the churn of her wide paddles makes the white foam seethe and boil as she backs out of the dock. The constant seesaw of the walking beam on the upper deck, the moving men on board...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Paley, William Daly
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Shooting the Chutes, Luna Park, Coney Island
    Title from Biograph production log: Shooting the Chutes, Luna Park
    "The camera was positioned to view the Shoot-the-Chutes concession from the best location. A special added attraction for the entertainment of the spectators is a man in a swimming suit who rides down the Shoot-the-Chutes on one ski"--Early motion pictures.
    • 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
    S.S. "Coptic" running against the storm Photographed from a single-camera position, the viewpoint is midships, straight ahead. The ship is running head-on through heavy seas. As the vessel runs into heavy billows, the water breaks in huge volumes over the prow and is dashed into clouds of spray. A monster wave comes along and the lookout disappears, but bobs up in the next moment, and water is seen running from...
    • 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
    Parade, fiftieth anniversary, Atlantic City, N.J.
    Parade, 50th anniversary, Atlantic City, N.J.
    Shows a parade held in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Atlantic City in 1854. Includes views of patriotic floats, a U.S. Army Drum and Bugle Corps, and the men and equipment of the Atlantic City Fire Department.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Kleine (George) Collection (Library of Congress) - Waters, Percival L.
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    New Brooklyn to New York via Brooklyn Bridge, no. 2 "This is a new negative showing the entire trip from Brooklyn to New York, in which the immense towers stand out clear and distinct against the sky. The best picture of the Brooklyn Bridge yet secured. 150 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: 1899
  • 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
    Brook trout fishing
    Variant title from Biograph bulletins: Trout fishing
    The camera shows a small waterfall and a stream. Across the stream on the bank is a man with a fishing pole in one hand and a retrieving net in the other. During the course of the film, he makes the normal movements of a man accustomed to trout fishing. High on the bank to the right is a spectator. At the end of...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Armitage, F. S. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1902
  • Film, Video
    McKinley and party
    Title in American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue [MI]: President McKinley's inspection of Camp Wikoff
    "This picture has been very popular wherever it has been shown on the Biograph. To begin with, the film is unusually fine photographically, and the picture is taken from a point of view which shows the immense distances of Camp Wikoff with its multitude of tents in the background. The President, with Vice-President Hobart and Secretary of War Russell A. Alger, appear in an...
    • Contributor: Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - American Mutoscope Company
    • Date: 1898
  • Film, Video
    Buster's joke on Papa
    Title from MAVIS: Busters joke on Papa, 1903 Dec 21
    The first scene shows Mama buying crabs from a vendor. The second shows Papa preparing for bed while Buster places crabs in the bed. Father retires and leaps from the bed in agony at the pain inflicted by the crabs. The last scene shows Mama placing Buster on a pillow on his chair to eat his breakfast.
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Outcault, Richard Felton - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) - Porter, Edwin S.
    • Date: 1903
  • Film, Video
    Uncle Josh in a spooky hotel
    Variant title from Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900: Uncle Josh in a spook hotel
    "The landlord enters with his rural guest. After examining the bed and other things in the room, Josh takes a seat beside the landlord, who tells him that there is a rumor that a ghost appears in that room every night at 12 o'clock. The ghost then appears mysteriously and hits Josh a slap on the cheek. Thinking it was the landlord who hit...
    • Contributor: Thomas A. Edison, Inc - Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress) - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1900
  • 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