Top of page

Film, Video How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
View Enlarged Image

About this Item

Title

  • How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns

Summary

  • "The picture opens with a "Personal" advertisement which actually appeared in the New York Herald of August 25th, 1904: "Young French Nobleman, recently arrived, desires to meet wealthy American girl; object matrimony; will be at Grant's Tomb at 10 this morning, wearing boutonniere of violets." The first scene shows the young "Nobleman" in his dressing room. He picks up the "Herald," and finally locates his "ad" with evident satisfaction. He then fastens a large bunch of violets to the lapel of his coat and departs for rendezvous. The next scene shows the "Nobleman" at Grant's Tomb, pacing impatiently back and forth. Soon a handsome young lady passes him, and seeing the violets, mutual recognition quickly follows. Another lady soon arrives, and others in rapid succession until the young Frenchman is completely surrounded. He finally escapes and runs for his life down the Riverside Drive, pursued by a dozen or more of his fair would-be captors, a stout lady in white bringing up the rear. He leads the girls a merry chase over sand banks, fallen trees, through bushes, over rail fences, and finally escapes, as he thinks, by wading into a pond up to his waist. The girls finally reach the pond and stand on the bank, imploring him to come ashore. But the Frenchman pays no heed to them. Finally the stout lady, who has been last throughout the entire race, arrives upon the scene, and without hesitating for an instant she dashes into the water and finally captures first prize and a titled husband in the bargain, again proving the old adage that "The race is not always to the swift." 675 ft."--Edison films catalog.

Names

  • Porter, Edwin S., direction, camera.
  • Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
  • Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1904.

Headings

  • -  Marriage--Humor
  • -  Matrimonial advertisements--New York (State)--New York--Humor
  • -  Personals--New York (State)--New York--Humor
  • -  New York herald--Humor
  • -  Nobility--France--Conduct of life--Humor
  • -  General Grant National Memorial (New York, N.Y.)
  • -  Riverside Drive (New York, N.Y.)

Genre

  • Comedy films
  • Chase films
  • Silent films
  • Short films
  • Fiction films

Notes

  • -  H49524 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 26Aug1904; H49524.
  • -  Camera, Edwin S. Porter.
  • -  Duration: 11:04 at 16 fps.
  • -  Filmed August 23-24, 1904 in New York City and Englewood, New Jersey.
  • -  According to the AFI catalog, film beginnings, 1893-1910, this film was sold complete, or in the following separate scenes: Personal ad and Nobleman; Grant's Tomb; Riverside Drive; Across the fields; Down the sand bank; Through the woods; Rail fence; Down the pike; Caught at last.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 2504) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
  • -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
  • -  Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
  • -  Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 147; AFI catalog, film beginnings, 1893-1910, p. 487-488; Edison films catalog, no. 288 (July, 1906), p. 31-32.
  • -  Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.

Medium

  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (287 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 675 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (287 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 675 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • master pos pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 300 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 675 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 675 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 5462 (viewing print)
  • FEB 9452 (viewing print)
  • FRA 2349 (dupe neg pic)
  • FPE 9257 (dupe neg pic)
  • FRB 0405 (master pos pic)
  • Box 0331A (paper pos)
  • Box 5110A (paper pos, copy 2)

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 00694227

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

While the Library is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the materials in the Inventing Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies, there may be content protected as "works for hire" (copyright may be held by the party that commissioned the original work) and/or under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. The Library is anxious to hear from individuals or institutions that have information about these materials or know of their history.

Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Users 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 users in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items as related to their desired uses.

The following films are reproduced courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, P.O. Box 720, Oyster Bay, NY 11771: U.S. Troops Landing at Daiquirí, Cuba; Troops Making Military Road in Front of Santiago; Pack Mules with Ammunition on the Santiago Trail, Cuba.

Suggested credit line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

Thomas A. Edison, Inc, Paper Print Collection, and Niver. How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns. directeds by Porter, Edwin S.Ection, Camera United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1904. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694227/.

APA citation style:

Thomas A. Edison, I., Paper Print Collection & Niver. (1904) How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns. Porter, E. S. E., dir United States: Edison Manufacturing Co. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694227/.

MLA citation style:

Thomas A. Edison, Inc, Paper Print Collection, and Niver. How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns. dir by Porter, Edwin S.Ection, Camera United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1904. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/00694227/>.