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Film, Video Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894 Sneeze / Fred Ott's sneeze / Ott's sneeze / Kinetoscopic record of a sneeze

Digital viewing copy

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Digital viewing copy (Harper's Weekly version)

About this Item

Title

  • Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894

Other Title

  • Sneeze
  • Fred Ott's sneeze
  • Ott's sneeze
  • Kinetoscopic record of a sneeze

Summary

  • "Considered to be the first motion picture given legal status by copyright acceptance. The forty-five frames it contains were sent in for copyright as a still picture. The action consists of a man, Fred Ott, sneezing. Application for copyright was filed by William K. Laurie Dickson, Edison's assistant and supervisor of the new motion picture project. The frames were rephotographed from the still picture and turned back into a motion picture"--Early motion pictures.

Names

  • Dickson, W. K.-L. (William Kennedy-Laurie), 1860-1935, production
  • Heise, William, camera
  • Thomas A. Edison, Inc
  • Hendricks (Gordon) Collection (Library of Congress)
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1894.

Headings

  • -  Ott, Frederic P
  • -  Sneezing

Genre

  • Actualities (Motion pictures)
  • Silent films
  • Short films
  • Nonfiction films

Notes

  • -  2887 44732 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Duration: 0:05 at 16 fps.
  • -  There appear to be two copyright registrations associated with this title. Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, (c) W. K. L. Dickson; 9Jan1894; 2887 is the registration that has been associated with the motion picture. Edison kinetoscopic records. (c) W. K. L. Dickson; 6Oct1893; 44732 is the registration that has been associated with the photographic print. According to Kemp Niver's Early motion pictures, the film was created from the photographic print. Despite research into original copyright records, it is unclear why there are two different titles for the same work, or why two registrations were issued. On the LC ILS record for the photographic print (lccn 95505651), the copyright registration number is 44732Y. The letter Y was used for 1893 copyright registrations. In some paperwork, the other registration number appears as 2887Z, the letter Z indicating that the year of registration was 1894.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 0026A) appears on cards in Paper Print Collection card file, but does not appear in paper print re-housing logs. Niver's Early motion pictures states that this title was deposited as photograph. Cannot confirm, as item is not on shelf in M/B/RS. May be housed in the Prints and Photographs Division.
  • -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
  • -  Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 86-87; Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, p. 87.
  • -  Camera, William Heise.
  • -  Appearing: Fred Ott.
  • -  Filmed January 7, 1894, in Edison's Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey.
  • -  Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.
  • -  35 mm viewing print renumbered: FEC 8091 to FYA 0970.

Medium

  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 45 frames) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print (copy 2) 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 45 frames) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 4 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 45 frames) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 4688 (viewing print)
  • FLA 6049 (viewing print, copy 2)
  • FYA 0970 (viewing print)
  • FRA 0255 (dupe neg pic)

Repository

  • Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C. 20540 USA dcu

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 00694192

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright or other restrictions in the vast majority of motion pictures in these collections. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.

In rare cases, copyrighted motion pictures are made available by special permission to the Library and may be used only for educational purposes. For example, the Gershwin home movies fall within this category. Rights assessment is your responsibility. No registration information exists for some titles, and reproduction of some titles may be restricted by privacy rights, publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Additionally, some works may still be protected by copyright in the United States or some foreign countries. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. You should consult the catalog information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding item and may assist you in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items for their desired uses. You should also consult restrictions associated with donations to the Library.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Heise, William, Camera, Inc Thomas A. Edison, Hendricks, and Paper Print Collection. Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7. produceds by Dickson, W. K.-L. , Uction United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1894. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694192/.

APA citation style:

Heise, W., Thomas A. Edison, I., Hendricks & Paper Print Collection. (1894) Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7. Dickson, W. K. -., prod United States: Edison Manufacturing Co. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694192/.

MLA citation style:

Heise, William, Camera, et al. Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7. prod by Dickson, W. K.-L. , Uction United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1894. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/00694192/>.