Saturday, August 15, 2009

London 1903 - Thomas Edison Film Footage

Thomas Edison was (among many other things) traveling and filming in various parts of the world round the turn of last century.

He was in Paris for the Universal Exposition of 1900, catching a myriad of angles on the city, such as the carriages, buses and pedestrians at the Place de L'Opera ...






Paris 1900 - Thomas Edison Film Footage

... and in London in 1903 - again catching the life of the streets, though now in much clearer film footage due to the technological advances in film stock over the three years. Though - curiously - the camera is much more static.

Both these productions are (for me at least) like serious time traveling - you get up close and personal with ordinary people going about their daily business, like taking a taxi at one of the entrances to Hyde Park ...


... and catching boats at the Embankment on the Thames - perhaps to work ...


There's the general bustle of the traffic, with individuals occasionally moving into the middle or into the foreground to make a more human connection ...




There are familiar landmarks, such as the Law Courts ...


... James Gibbs's St Mary-Le-Strand ...


... and St. Margaret's Westminster and Big Ben ...


Familiar brand names flash up every so often, like old friends - just to bring this world a little closer to our own - such as Nestles ...


... and Lipton's Tea ...


And there's the (perhaps unexpected) chaos of the traffic in often dust-clogged streets ...




So sit back, relax and enjoy the show ...


London 1903 - Thomas Edison Film Footage

Any of the landscape familiar to you who know or visit London?

I remember more than I thought I would from my time there in my teens and early twenties.

13 comments:

  1. That's not Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, that's St. Margaret's Westminster and Big Ben. You can just see part of Westminster Abbey on the right hand side of the picture.

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  2. What a wonderful set of photos and the two videos today. Very interesting. Thanks.

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  3. Thanks Nick what a great video, we think that congestion is a new thing but look a that. It's interesting how well the traffic moves, without any controls. I just wondered whether the opening sht was the old Euston Station Arch? lol.

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  4. hey chris

    thanks for the correction - wasn't looking carefully

    take care

    nick

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  5. hey glen0330

    yeah, i've had them for a bit and been wanting to post them - just needed some time to Snag some stills from the footage to properly introduce the film

    glad you enjoyed them!

    take care

    nick

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  6. hey juicer

    yeah, i can tend to have that nostalgic and romantic view of the past - i imagined

    i had thought the opening shot was the gate to the park near wellington's home of Aspley House - but maybe you're right - i left london a long time ago - hopefully someone else'll clear it up

    best

    nick

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  7. hey juicer

    forgot to finish the first part of my comment!

    in my nostalgia i imagine quiet spacious streets uncluttered by traffic - a far cry!

    CYA

    nick

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  8. It's the triple-arched gateway at Apsley House all right. Here's another view:

    http://is.gd/2jKk9

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  9. I noticed a lone automobile amongst the conjestion of horse drawn omnibuses. Can you imgine the smell and droppings that added to the ambiance? No thank you. But was a much slower life then and had it's advantages for sure. Fun to watch...thanks Nick

    Doug.........los angeles

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  10. hey chris

    my visual memory is not great but every now and then i get it right - only every now and then!

    i used to live down the road - in beaufort gardens in knightbridge - so maybe this is the reason for remembering here

    thanks very much for the attached photo

    take care

    nick

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  11. hey doug

    hadn't thought of the olfactory angle here - but you're dead right!

    it's interesting to pick out signs of the century coming up, like the occasional auto

    i also like the occasional pedestrian turning to stare at the new-fangled contraption - the camera

    glad you enjoyed watching it!

    take care

    nick

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  12. Fascinating look at how "traffic" was like back in the horse-drawn carriage days, Nick!

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  13. hey greg

    yeah, it is - and it seems like from a distant past, long long gone - but it's only 100 years ago - it would have been in the experience of my grandmother or at least her parents

    CYA

    nick

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