Top of page

Film, Video New York City dumping wharf

digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • New York City dumping wharf

Summary

  • The film shows a wharf where a barge is being loaded with trash from two-wheeled, horse-drawn wagons. The trash is dumped off the edge of the pier onto the barge, where men with shovels are spreading the piles of debris. The camera pans left to the next barge, where four-wheeled carts are shown dumping excavation rubble. Probably filmed on the East River, this is one of several New York City dumping wharves in operation at the time.

Names

  • Smith, James Blair, camera.
  • Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1903.

Headings

  • -  New York (N.Y.).--Department of Street Cleaning
  • -  Refuse and refuse disposal--New York (State)--New York
  • -  Sanitation workers--New York (State)--New York
  • -  Wharves--New York (State)--New York
  • -  Barges--New York (State)--New York

Genre

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

Notes

  • -  H32030 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 20May1903; H32030.
  • -  Camera, James Blair Smith.
  • -  Duration: 1:21 at 15 fps.
  • -  The Internet movie database gives Edwin S. Porter as the director of this film, however, Musser's Before the nickelodeon says that in April 1903, "Edwin Porter and James Smith shot at least fifteen travelogue-type subjects in and around Manhattan [including] New York City dumping wharf". Neither Porter or Smith is given a directing credit for this film.
  • -  Photographed April 28, 1903 in New York, N.Y.
  • -  According to notes on the original M/B/RS catalog card, the cameraman, date of capture, and location are from the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation records.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 1735) 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. 221; AFI catalog, film beginnings, 1893-1910, p. 730; Musser, C. Before the nickelodeon, p. 241; Thomas Alva Edison Foundation records, envelope 7; Internet movie database, November 28, 2018.
  • -  Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.
  • -  35 mm dupe neg pic renumbered: FPE 5372 to FZA 2327.

Medium

  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (40 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 80 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (40 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 80 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • master pos pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 40 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 80 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 80 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 4749 (viewing print)
  • FEB 9441 (viewing print)
  • FRA 2847 (dupe neg pic)
  • FZA 2327 (dupe neg pic)
  • FRB 0568 (master pos pic)
  • Box 0066F (paper pos)
  • Box 5113G (paper pos, copy 2)

Source Collection

  • Niver (Kemp) Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 00694385

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:

Smith, James Blair, Camera, Inc Thomas A. Edison, and Paper Print Collection. New York City dumping wharf. United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc, 1903. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694385/.

APA citation style:

Smith, J. B., Thomas A. Edison, I. & Paper Print Collection. (1903) New York City dumping wharf. United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694385/.

MLA citation style:

Smith, James Blair, Camera, Inc Thomas A. Edison, and Paper Print Collection. New York City dumping wharf. United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc, 1903. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/00694385/>.