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Film, Video Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa" Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitose" / Variant title from Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900: Launching of Japanese man-of-war "Chitose" / Variant title from MAVIS: Launch of the Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa"

Digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa"

Other Title

  • Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitose"
  • Variant title from Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900: Launching of Japanese man-of-war "Chitose"
  • Variant title from MAVIS: Launch of the Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa"

Summary

  • Shows the launching of the Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser Chitose at the Union Iron Works shipyard, San Francisco, on Saturday, January 22, 1898. The camera view is east, across a small inlet of Central Basin, to slipway no. 1. Four additional slipways lay beyond to the west. The camera viewpoint is today called pier 68, part of Southwest Marine's facilities. The launch took place at 10:25 a.m. before a crowd of 200 distinguished guests and over 1,000 members of the public, as well as many shipworkers. Numerous workers can be seen dangling from the framework of the assembley shed [Frame: 1030], and a large crowd watches from a grandstand at the rear. Men and boys watch from small boats in the foreground and two boys jump into the water fully clothed near the end of the film [Frame: 1570]. Miss May Budd, niece of California governor James Budd, christened the ship with a bottle of California wine. Miss Gladys Sullivan, niece of San Francisco mayor James Phelan, pressed the button that sent the ship down the slipway. Following a Japanese custom symbolizing the peace-keeping role of a warship, 100 doves were released at the same moment. Bands played and Japanese fireworks were set off as the Chitose slid into the Bay. United States Army and Navy officials, state and city officials, and the consular corps attended the launching. Japanese Consul General Segawa explained in a speech at the following luncheon that Chitose meant "a thousand years of peace" in Japanese, and hoped that the ship would fulfill that wish.

Names

  • White, James H. (James Henry), production
  • Blechynden, Frederick, camera
  • Thomas A. Edison, Inc
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1898.

Headings

  • -  Chitose (Ship)
  • -  Union Iron Works Co
  • -  Ships--Launching
  • -  Warships--Japan
  • -  San Francisco (Calif.)

Genre

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

Notes

  • -  16427 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 10Mar1898; 16427.
  • -  Duration: 0:52 at 15 fps.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 1085) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
  • -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
  • -  Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 180; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, p. 385; San Francisco chronicle, January 23, 1898, p. 40, viewed online via ProQuest Historical Newspapers, October 27, 2014.
  • -  Camera, Frederick Blechynden.
  • -  Photographed: January 22, 1898. Location: Union Iron Works Shipyard, San Francisco.
  • -  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 (29 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 50 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (29 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 50 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 50 ft) : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 50 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 4099 (viewing print)
  • FEC 1496 (viewing print)
  • FRA 1280 (dupe neg pic)
  • FPE 6798 (dupe neg pic)
  • Box 0047D (paper pos)
  • Box 5139F (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

  • 00694414

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897 to 1916 Collection are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897 to 1916 Collection.

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:

Blechynden, Frederick, Camera, Inc Thomas A. Edison, and Paper Print Collection. Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa". produceds by White, James H. Uction United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc, 1898. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694414/.

APA citation style:

Blechynden, F., Thomas A. Edison, I. & Paper Print Collection. (1898) Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa". White, J. H. U., prod United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694414/.

MLA citation style:

Blechynden, Frederick, Camera, Inc Thomas A. Edison, and Paper Print Collection. Launch of Japanese man-of-war "Chitosa". prod by White, James H. Uction United States: Thomas A. Edison, Inc, 1898. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/00694414/>.