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Edison Films
1891-1900
(1891-1900)

Contents: [Newark Athlete] (1891), Leonard-Cushing Fight (1894), Seminary Girls (1897), Pillow Fight (1897), Bowery Waltz (1897), Charity Ball (1897), Crissie Sheridan (1897), Ella Lola, a la Trilby (1898), Turkish Dance, Ella Lola (1898), Philadelphia Express, Jersey Central Railway (1897), Fast Mail, Northern Pacific R.R. (1897), Sunset Limited, Southern Pacific Ry. (1898), Going Through the Tunnel (1898), Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 1 (1898), Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 2 (1898), Mount Taw R.R., no. 3 (1898), Freight Train (1898), Overland Express Arriving at Helena, Mont. (1900), Launch of Life Boat (1897), Capsize of Lifeboat (1897), S.S. “Coptic” at Dock (1897), S.S. “Coptic” Sailing Away (1897), S.S. “Coptic” in the Harbor (1897), S.S. “Queen” Loading (1897), S.S. “Queen” Leaving Dock (1897), Feeding Sea Gulls (1898), Launch of Japanese Man-of-War “Chitosa” (1898), Launching, no. 2 (1898), After Launching (1898), Passaic Falls, New Jersey (1896), Waterfall in the Catskills (1897), Falls of Minnehaha (1897), Tourists Going Round Yellowstone Park (1899), Lower Falls, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park (1899), Coaches Arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs (1899), Herald Square (1896), A Street Arab (1898), Observation Train Following Parade (1898), Statue of Liberty (1898), Sleighing Scene (1898), Buffalo Police on Parade (1897), Buffalo Fire Department in Action (1897), Police Patrol Wagon (1897), Corner Madison and State Streets, Chicago (1897), Cattle Driven to Slaughter (1897), Sheep Run, Chicago Stockyards (1897), First Avenue, Seattle, Washington, no. 8 (1897), Loading Baggage for Klondike, no. 6 (1897), Horses Loading for Klondike, no. 9 (1897), S.S. “Willamette” Leaving for Klondike (1897), Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. (1897), Fisherman’s Wharf (1897), Fishing Smacks (1897), Lurline Baths (1897), Sutro Baths, no. 1 (1897), Sutro Baths (1897), Leander Sisters (1897), Cupid and Psyche (1897), Procession of Floats (1898), Native Daughters (1898), Parade of Chinese (1898), Stanford University, California (1897), Hotel Vendome, San Jose, Cal. (1897), Surf at Monterey (1897), Hotel Del Monte (1897), South Spring Street, Los Angeles, Cal. (1898), Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, Cal. (1897), Giant Coal Dumper (1897), Armour’s Electric Trolley (1897), Union Iron Works (1898), Wreck of the Battleship “Maine” (1898), Burial of the “Maine” Victims (1898), War Correspondents (1898), N.Y. Despatch Yacht “Buccaneer” (1898), Secretary Long and Captain Sigsbee (1898), U.S. Battleship “Indiana” (1898), Colored Troops Disembarking (1898), Transport “Whitney” Leaving Dock (1898), Military Camp at Tampa, Taken from Train (1898), 9th Infantry Boys’ Morning Wash (1898), 10th U.S. Infantry, 2nd Battalion Leaving Cars (1898), Cuban Refugees Waiting for Rations (1898), Blanket-Tossing a New Recruit (1898), Soldiers Washing Dishes (1898), Trained Cavalry Horses (1898), Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Embarking for Santiago (1898), Troops Embarking at San Francisco (1898), Cuban Volunteers Embarking (1898), Major General Shafter (1898), Packing Ammunition on Mules, Cuba (1898), Pack Mules with Ammunition on the Santiago Trail, Cuba (1898), Cuban Ambush (1898), Shooting Captured Insurgents (1898), Troops Making Military Road in Front of Santiago (1898), The Fleet Steaming up North River (1898), Close View of the “Brooklyn,” Naval Parade (1898), Reviewing the “Texas” at Grant’s Tomb (1898), Parade of Marines, U.S. Cruiser, “Brooklyn” (1898), Raising Old Glory Over Morro Castle (1899), Wash Day in Mexico (1898), Racing at Sheepshead Bay (1897), Free-For-All Race at Charter Oak Park (1897), Hockey Match on the Ice (1898), Admiral Cigarette (1897), Fisherman’s Luck (1897), What Demoralized the Barber Shop (1898) and Little Mischief (1900).

This collection of late 19th century Edison films appears to have been preapred as an adjunct to Kino International’s 2005 Edison films collection, Edison: The Invention of the Movies (1891-1918). There are very few redundant films between the two collections.

Many of the films are of lesser interest than those included in the Kino collection, but some viewers will show interest in at least some of the more specialized subject matter.

— Carl Bennett

Nickelcinema
2005 DVD edition

Edison Films: 1891-1900 (1891-1900), black & white, 71 minutes total, not rated, including [Newark Athlete] (1891), black & white, less than 1 minute, not rated, Leonard-Cushing Fight (1894), black & white, 1 minute, not rated, Seminary Girls (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Pillow Fight (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Bowery Waltz (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Charity Ball (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Crissie Sheridan (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Ella Lola, a la Trilby (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Turkish Dance, Ella Lola (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Philadelphia Express, Jersey Central Railway (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Fast Mail, Northern Pacific R.R. (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sunset Limited, Southern Pacific Ry. (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Going Through the Tunnel (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 1 (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 2 (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Mount Taw R.R., no. 3 (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Freight Train (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Overland Express Arriving at Helena, Mont. (1900), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Launch of Life Boat (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Capsize of Lifeboat (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Coptic” at Dock (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Coptic” Sailing Away (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Coptic” in the Harbor (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Queen” Loading (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Queen” Leaving Dock (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Feeding Sea Gulls (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Launch of Japanese Man-of-War “Chitosa” (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Launching, no. 2 (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, After Launching (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Passaic Falls, New Jersey (1896), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Waterfall in the Catskills (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Falls of Minnehaha (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Tourists Going Round Yellowstone Park (1899), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Lower Falls, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park (1899), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Coaches Arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs (1899), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Herald Square (1896), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, A Street Arab (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Observation Train Following Parade (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Statue of Liberty (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sleighing Scene (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Buffalo Police on Parade (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Buffalo Fire Department in Action (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Police Patrol Wagon (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Corner Madison and State Streets, Chicago (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Cattle Driven to Slaughter (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sheep Run, Chicago Stockyards (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, First Avenue, Seattle, Washington, no. 8 (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Loading Baggage for Klondike, no. 6 (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Horses Loading for Klondike, no. 9 (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, S.S. “Willamette” Leaving for Klondike (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Fisherman’s Wharf (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Fishing Smacks (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Lurline Baths (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sutro Baths, no. 1 (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sutro Baths (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Leander Sisters (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Cupid and Psyche (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Procession of Floats (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Native Daughters (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Parade of Chinese (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Stanford University, California (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Hotel Vendome, San Jose, Cal. (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Surf at Monterey (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Hotel Del Monte (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, South Spring Street, Los Angeles, Cal. (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, Cal. (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Giant Coal Dumper (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Armour’s Electric Trolley (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Union Iron Works (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Wreck of the Battleship “Maine” (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Burial of the “Maine” Victims (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, War Correspondents (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, N.Y. Despatch Yacht “Buccaneer” (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Secretary Long and Captain Sigsbee (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, U.S. Battleship “Indiana” (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Colored Troops Disembarking (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Transport “Whitney” Leaving Dock (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Military Camp at Tampa, Taken from Train (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, 9th Infantry Boys’ Morning Wash (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, 10th U.S. Infantry, 2nd Battalion Leaving Cars (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Cuban Refugees Waiting for Rations (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Blanket-Tossing a New Recruit (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Soldiers Washing Dishes (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Trained Cavalry Horses (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Embarking for Santiago (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Troops Embarking at San Francisco (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Cuban Volunteers Embarking (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Major General Shafter (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Packing Ammunition on Mules, Cuba (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Pack Mules with Ammunition on the Santiago Trail, Cuba (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Cuban Ambush (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Shooting Captured Insurgents (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Troops Making Military Road in Front of Santiago (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Fleet Steaming up North River (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Close View of the “Brooklyn,” Naval Parade (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Reviewing the “Texas” at Grant’s Tomb (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Parade of Marines, U.S. Cruiser, “Brooklyn” (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Raising Old Glory Over Morro Castle (1899), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Wash Day in Mexico (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Racing at Sheepshead Bay (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Free-For-All Race at Charter Oak Park (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Hockey Match on the Ice (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Admiral Cigarette (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Fisherman’s Luck (1897), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, What Demoralized the Barber Shop (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, and Little Mischief (1900), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Nickelcinema, 1, no UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no subtitles; 22 chapter stops; slimline DVD keepcase; $6.95.
Release date: 19 June 2005.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 3 / additional content: 0 / overall: 3.

It appears that the transfer sources for this DVD-R collection were the online video files posted on the Library of Congress website. All of the films have been transferred from the paper print collection held by the Library. The paper prints were part of early efforts to protect the films in copyright. Beginning in the 1950s, the paper prints (sometimes the only extant copies of films) were copied back to motion picture film, mostly in 16mm reduction prints. Between the substandard detail quality of the paper prints and their copying to a small film format, the visual quality of films in the paper print collection are often low. There is no exception here, either, as the video files that are intended for viewing on a computer screen are often compressed to the point of generating compression artifacts that are nearly impossible to miss — especially on a high-definition monitor.

Speaking to the no-budget nature of this collection, the disc’s menu gives away that it was prepared in iMovie on a Macintosh computer.

The presentation is arranged into subject sections: Experimental Films 1891; Edison Black Maria Studio 1894-1898; Trains and Railroads 1897-1900; Boats and Ships 1897-1898; Tourism 1896-1899; New York, New York 1896-1898; Buffalo, New York 1897; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1897; Chicago, Illinois 1897; Seattle, Washington 1897; San Francisco, California 1897-1898; Palo Alto, California 1897; San Jose, California 1897; Monterey, California 1897; Los Angeles, California 1898; Mt. Hamilton, California 1897; Industry 1897-1898; The Spanish-American War 1898-1899; Mexico 1898; At Play 1897-1898; Advertising 1897; and Comedies 1897-1899. Some sections only have one film in them, others have several.

The films are accompanied by approximately contemporary gramophone recordings.

Not really recommended. But, if you have to own these films on home video, this is pretty much your only option right now.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .