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Film, Video Three acrobats

Digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • Three acrobats

Summary

  • Vaudeville stage act of two male and one female clown-acrobats who make use of a constructed "break-away" wall of spring-hinged windows and doors. Begins with a male clown in dark tights and leotard with a white clown collar tumbling through the set's upper window, as a second male in a light suitcoat over dark tights and leotard tumbles out the bottom window. Both men have painted faces and wild clown hair. As they chase each other in and around the wall's doors, a dark-haired woman in light tights and leotard, without greasepaint, surreptitiously hits one of the male clowns with a board. That man thinks it is the other male who has struck him, and the chase continues. This business is repeated with a bucket. As the first male clown kicks the other, however, the woman is spotted and blamed for the incident, resulting in a chase between all three "acrobats" in and out of the set's doors.
  • "The Buffons are artists in their line. They tumble in and out of trick doors, disappear and reappear in unexpected places in most unexpected ways. Sure to amuse the children. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog, no. 105.

Names

  • Thomas A. Edison, Inc
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1899.

Headings

  • -  Three Buffons
  • -  Acrobats
  • -  Acrobatics
  • -  Clowns
  • -  Clowning

Genre

  • Filmed vaudeville acts
  • Comedy films
  • Silent films
  • Short films
  • Nonfiction films

Notes

  • -  20772 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 20Mar1899; 20772.
  • -  Original main title lacking.
  • -  Duration: 0:34 at 22 fps.
  • -  Part of summary from Early motion pictures.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 0844) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
  • -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
  • -  Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 327; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, p. 494; Edison films catalog, no. 105, July 1901, p. 49; Gilbert, D. American vaudeville, 1940, p. 397; AFI catalog: film beginnings, 1893-1910, 1063.
  • -  Performers: The Three Buffons.
  • -  Photographed in March, 1899 in Edison's Black Maria studio, West Orange, New Jersey.
  • -  paper pos (copy 2) Received: 1899-03-20; copyright deposit; Paper Print Collection.
  • -  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 2273 to FYA 3742.
  • -  Paper print roll lacking suffix.

Medium

  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (26 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (48 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (26 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (48 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • master pos pic 1 film reel of 1 (ca. 25 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 50 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll (50 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 3848 (viewing print)
  • FYA 3742 (viewing print)
  • FRA 1070 (dupe neg pic)
  • FPE 7921 (dupe neg pic)
  • FRB 1704 (master pos pic)
  • Box 0126Q (paper pos)
  • Box 5402 (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

  • 96515575

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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

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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, and Paper Print Collection. Three Acrobats. United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1899. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/96515575/.

APA citation style:

Thomas A. Edison, I. & Paper Print Collection. (1899) Three Acrobats. United States: Edison Manufacturing Co. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/96515575/.

MLA citation style:

Thomas A. Edison, Inc, and Paper Print Collection. Three Acrobats. United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1899. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/96515575/>.