The Films of Thomas Edison
Volume 3 (Containing 34 films)

Edison's laboratory was responsible for the invention of the Kinetograph (a motion picture camera) and the Kinetoscope (a peep-hole motion picture viewer). Most of this work was performed by Edison's assistant, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, beginning in 1888. Motion pictures became a successful entertainment industry in less than a decade, with single-viewer Kinetoscopes giving way to films projected for mass audiences. The Edison Manufacturing Co. (later known as Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) not only built the apparatus for filming and projecting motion pictures, but also produced films for public consumption. Most early examples were actualities showing famous people, news events, disasters, people at work, new modes of travel and technology, scenic views, expositions, and other leisure activities. As actualities declined in popularity, the company's production emphasis shifted to comedies and dramas.

This collection features 341 Edison films. The earliest example is a camera test made in 1891, followed by other tests and a wide variety of actualities and dramas through the year 1918, when Edison's company ceased film production.

Here are some sample clips from four of the movies on this CD

Here is a description of each film on this CD

Duke of York at Montreal and Quebec CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1901. SUMMARY From K. Niver: This film shows the citation, presentation, and dedication of a bridge by the Duke of York, later King of England and grandfather of Queen Elizabeth. Many high-ranking military officials of both England and Canada are with him.

A dull razor CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: This picture shows an old gentleman seated at his shaving table. The razor is evidently giving him a great deal of trouble, as he catches hold of the brush and with a great show of impatience he hurriedly coats his face with the foaming soap and makes a second attempt at removing his beard. He scrapes and scrapes, and judging from the painful facial expressions, the razor grows duller with every stroke. The old man makes a new and ludicrous twitch of the mouth every time he draws the razor across his face. This is a 50 foot film of an ordinary scene of every day life, and its mirth provoking merits have never been surpassed.

Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894 CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1894. SUMMARY Film made for publicity purposes, as a series of still photographs to accompany an article in Harper's weekly.

Eiffel Tower from Trocadero Palace CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900.

Ella Lola, a la Trilby / Thomas A. Edison, Inc. CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1898. SUMMARY A young, dark-haired woman performs a dance inspired by George du Maurier's character Trilby, in an early modern dance style reminiscent of Isadora Duncan. She dances barefoot without stockings and is dressed in a long, flowing gown bound across the bosom in Grecian style, with inside fringe and a draped cape hooked to her wrist. She also wears what appears to be a garland headpiece. Holding her gown with one hand throughout, the dancer performs a series of kicks and turns with leg kicks front and back, rocking, and round de jambe.

Emigrants [i.e. immigrants] landing at Ellis Island CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1903. SUMMARY The film opens with a view of the steam ferryboat "William Myers," laden with passengers, approaching a dock at the Ellis Island Immigration Station. The vessel is docked

The enchanted drawing CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Upon a large sheet of white paper a cartoonist is seen at work rapidly sketching the portrait of an elderly gentleman of most comical feature and expression. After completing the likeness the artist rapidly draws on the paper a clever sketch of a bottle of wine and a goblet, and then, to the surprise of all, actually removes them from the paper on which they were drawn and pours actual wine out of the bottle into a real glass. Surprising effects quickly follow after this; and the numerous changes of expression which flit over the face in the sketch cause a vast amount of amusement and at the same time give a splendid illustration of the caricaturist's art.

English lancers charging CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: The stubborn resistance of the Boers is shown by the activity and persistency with which they fire the two large field pieces immediately in the foreground. It seems, indeed, a hopeless matter to attempt to capture and overthrow such an invulnerable position. The British Lancers are seen advancing, urged on by their officers, with the Royal colors flying in the air. They press the battery of Boers with such vigor that before the position is surrendered, there is scarcely a handful left to retreat, the remainder lying dead and wounded on the battle field. This picture is full of action and very exciting.

Esplanade des Invalides CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Beginning with the camera pointing toward the Invalides entrance, with the tomb of Napoleon in the background. The camera is slowly revolved until it rests upon the new and beautiful bridge of Alexander III, showing the immense crowds entering the Exposition.

Esquimaux game of snap-the-whip CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901. SUMMARY The film, photographed from a single camera position, shows a large tent of animal skins in front of which are two spectators watching two participants perform a game of skill using whips.

Esquimaux leap-frog CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901. SUMMARY The film, photographed from a single camera position, shows buildings resembling igloos on ice floes, in front of which persons clothed as Eskimos play a game of leapfrog.

Esquimaux village CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901. SUMMARY The first of three camera positions shows a low building resembling an igloo beside a small pool, and an ice floe. Dark-complexioned people dressed as Eskimos run up and down alongside the pool, and a dog pulls a sled. Next, some sled dogs are led in front of the camera. The last camera position shows the same dogs running into a tent made from animal skins.

European rest cure (in 5 parts) CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1904. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: On the gangplack of one of the large ocean liners leaving New York is shown an old gentleman kissing his wife and daughter good-bye before leaving on a tour abroad for a much needed rest from business cares and troubles. A great crowd of people are next shown waving farewells to departing friends and relatives as the big steamer leaves the pier. We now accompany our old friend on his trip and show in succession his varied experiences. As the steamer glides down the Hudson River a panorama is shown of the lower section of New York, with its numerous sky-scrapers, Battery Park, and the Aquarium. Next the pilot is shown leaving the ship at Sandy Hook and the course is now clear for a run across the Atlantic. The scene now changes to a view of the ocean and the bow of the vessel, taken from the bridge. It shows the way a modern ocean greyhound plows her way through the water, and the spray dasing over the deck. The seas are high during the voyage and as our tourist is a poor sailor he suffers severely from the rolling of the ship, and is compelled to keep in his stateroom most of the time. Our next scene shows him rolling around the floor of his room in dreadful agony. He finally gets on his feet and by holding on to anything within reach he finally manages to reach his berth. After reaching the berth a monstrous wave strikes the ship and the unfortunate man is thrown out on the floor. Suddenly the porthole cover is thrown open by the force of a wave and our friend gets a ducking. Landed in Europe, he makes several new acquaintances, and decides to pay his first visit to Ireland. He reaches Blarney Castle and the guides show him where the Blarney Stone is located. Having heard a great deal of this wonderful stone, he wishes to be one of the party to kiss it, and arranges with a couple of Irish attendants to lower him over the roof of the castle. They take hold of him by the heels, and swing him down along the side of the building, head first. As he is about to kiss the stone, the Irishmen's grip on his feet relaxes and they let him drop. Eventually he gets over his injuries and leaves Ireland for France. Reaching Paris, he leaves his friends and starts to do up the concert halls. We now show him in one of the gayest of these resorts. Upon entering the place, he takes a seat at a table and orders a drink. His attention is soon attracted by a couple of gay young women at another table, and he soon joins them. The wine begins to flow and soon the women and the old tourist become very gay, and they all start to dance and have a good time. Suddenly the old fellow is surprised by his friends, who, having missed him, started to search for him. They soon hurry him out of the place and upbraid him for getting into such questionable company. Leaving Paris, the party go to Switzerland, and visit the Alps. Of course these famous mountains must be climbed, so guides are engaged to point out the paths and give assistance. The party manages to reach a great height without mishap, but the trip must be spoiled by our seeker for rest. One treacherous section of the mountain is reached, and climbing is quite difficult. The guides assist each of the tourists over the great rocks, but when our friend's turn comes the inevitable happens, and he drops into one of the great crevices of the mountain. The guides lower ropes and haul him up. He gets a bad shaking up but comes around all right, with the assistance of stimulants administered by one of the party. From Switzerland they travel to Italy and view the ruins of ancient Rome. In some way the old tourist is left behind by his party, and as he stands alone wondering what has become of his friends, he is pounced upon by a couple of Italian bandits and relieved of all his valuables. His next stop is in Egypt. The party view the Pyramids and Sphinx, and are finally induced by the natives to climb one of the pyramids. Two of the black guides take care of our friend and aid him to climb, but as usual something happens. When near the top down he comes, landing in a heap at the bottom. To get over his injuries takes a little time, but hearing of the wonderful curative powers of Germany's mud baths, he sets off for that country. He is next seen in the care of two corpulent bath attendants. They help him into a tub and soon cover him with mud, which gets into his eyes and almost blinds him. The attendants scour him with the mud until the skin peels off and then clean him off by throwing ice water on him. By the time they get through with him he is hardly able to move and decides that he has had enough rest and that home is the best place. The trip across the ocean is made, and he finally lands back in New York. A cab is waiting outside the pier shed and the old fellow is assisted into it by his wife and daughter and two porters. He is driven home, where his final rest is taken.

Execution of Czolgosz, with panorama of Auburn Prison CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901. SUMMARY The film begins by showing railroad cars in the foreground with the overshadowing walls of a state prison in the background. The second camera position, from a higher elevation, pans slowly showing the yard interior of the prison and some of the large buildings. There is a dissolve from the exterior to the interior, a set of a stone wall with an iron barred door. Uniformed men are visible; they open the door and remove a man in civilian clothes. The camera then dissolves to another set in which there is a chair with wires attached. The man in civilian clothes is brought in and strapped to the chair. At the end of the film, two of the six witnesses examine him with stethoscopes.

The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., [1895] SUMMARY From Maguire& Baucus catalogue: Representing the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots. A realistic reproduction of an historic scene.

Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Bld'g CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1906. SUMMARY This film is a spectacular pan of the downtown area of San Francisco as seen from south of Market Street. The location among low ruins was ideal to view the tall ruined buildings along and north of Market Street. Since the facade of St. Patrick's Church is not visible in the pan, the film is probably later than May 9, the date the facade was demolished. The camera, placed on the east side of 4th Street near Natoma Street, one and two-thirds blocks south of Market Street, pans a full 240 degrees, from southwest to southeast.

Exploding a Whitehead torpedo CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: The torpedo was exploded in fifteen fathoms of water. The picture shows the water, mud and rocks being thrown high up in the air, and will give an idea of the destructiveness of one of these missiles.

The extra turn CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1903. SUMMARY Camera is positioned as if in the audience of a vaudeville show. A man and two women, all in evening clothes, are seated in a theater box to the left of a stage with curtains and a painted backdrop of trees. A young woman in a white dress, identified by a sign as "Dolly Lightfoot," performs a simple dance with leg kicks. The audience in the box applaud as she finishes, takes a curtsy, and exits. When they continue to clap, the dancer returns for an encore bow, and the man in the box throws her a bouquet of flowers. After she again exits, a man comes on the stage and changes the sign to "Extra," indicating an extra "turn" or act. A man in evening dress and holding sheet music takes the stage, and begins to sing with broad gestures. The trio in the box grumble and angrily gesture at the stage, then they throw their fans and hats at the oblivious singer and cover their ears. More hats and other objects are thrown by the off-camera audience, until one succeeds in knocking down the vocalist. He runs off stage, but quickly returns with an umbrella and continues to sing undaunted, even when the man in the box throws his seat cushion. Finally, two stagehands enter and drag and push the offending singer off stage, to the relief of the theater patrons.

Falls of Minnehaha CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: The "Laughing Waters" of Longfellow's "Hiawatha." A beautiful view of this picturesque and celebrated waterfall.

Fast mail, Northern Pacific R. R. CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Here is a twelve car train dashing along at a high rate of speed. It is seen first in the distance and approaches and passes by the camera. As it takes less than 30 seconds to show this 50 foot strip on a Projecting Kinetoscope, an idea may be formed of the speed of this pet train of the Northern Pacific Railway. The waving grass along the track side, the black smoke, and the clouds of dust that follow the train, make very vivid effects.

Faust and Marguerite CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Marguerite is seated before the fireplace, Faust standing by her side. Mephistopheles enters and offers his sword to Faust, commanding him to behead the fair Marguerite. Faust refuses, whereupon Mephistopheles draws the sword across the throat of the lady and she suddenly disappears and Faust is seated in her place.

Feeding sea gulls CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1898. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: A fine view of San Francisco Bay, from an Oakland ferryboat. Tug towing a scow passes by. Sea gulls sail through the air and dive into the seething wake of the boat.

Feeding the doves CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1896. SUMMARY From Maguire & Baucus catalogues: A farm yard picture, showing a young girl and her baby sister scattering grain to the doves and chickens. The fluttering birds and excited fowls give an abundance of action to the scene, which is one of the prettiest, clearest and most attractive ever taken.

Filipinos retreat from trenches CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1899. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: An incident of the Battle of the Trenches at Candabar [sic]. The enemy threw up a high earth embankment during the night, and are defending it with great stubbornness. The pits are crowded with Filipinos, who fire volley after volley. The artillery of the Americans plays havoc with their ranks and they fall back, leaving many dead. Their retreat is hotly covered by a company of U.S. Infantry, with mounted officer. They tumble over the embankment into the trench, fire a volley and advance. The officer carefully examines the earthworks, his horse picking his way cautiously over the bodies of the fallen foe.

Fireboat "New Yorker" answering an alarm CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1903. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: This picture gives a good idea of how soon one of the New York fireboats can be gotten under way after they receive an alarm of fire. The men are seen running on board the boat, taking their respective places, casting off the lines, etc. The boat is on its way to the fire in almost an instant.

Fireboat "New Yorker" in action--excerpts CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1903. SUMMARY This excerpt shows a demonstration by the famous fireboat "New Yorker." The picture shows the fireboat with all its nozzles spurting water as it goes back and forth in front of the camera. Put in service on February 1, 1891 as Engine Company 57, the "New Yorker" was stationed at the Battery near Castle Garden, where her crew lived aboard. She was 125 feet long, 25 feet abeam, with a tonnage of 243. The 800 horsepower triple expansion engine turned a single screw. With a total capacity of 13,000 gallons per minute from its Clapp & Jones and La France fire pumps, the "New Yorker" was the most powerful fireboat in the world. When Admiral Dewey came to New York with the flagship "Olympia" after the battle of Manilla Bay, the "New Yorker" led the water parade of hundreds of craft. Built at a cost of $98,250, the "New Yorker" remained in service until 1931.

First Avenue, Seattle, Washington, no. 8 CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Taken during the Klondike excitement. The streets are crowded with miners buying outfits and supplies. Mule trains, trolley cars and hurrying pedestrians give life and bustle to the scene.

The first sleigh-ride CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Maguire & Baucus catalogues: This subject taken just after the recent first fall of snow, shows two enthusiastic horsemen indulging in a "brush" with their respective horses and cutters.

Fisherman's luck CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Two German anglers are fishing, with odd results. One gets a bite, and pulls in a length of stovepipe. The other is so astonished that he falls overboard.

Fisherman's Wharf CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From F.Z. Maguire catalogue: Shows the wharf at San Francisco, Cal., with a large fleet of fishing boats at anchor. The crews are engaged in mending nets, arranging lines, etc., all of which lend action to the view. The figures are clear and life size, and the scene is truthfully reproduced.

The fleet steaming up North River CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1898. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: Shows the "Brooklyn," flying Schley's twin-starred blue flag. Every detail brought out with wonderful clearness. Excursion craft in the distance. Bow of the "Indiana" appears toward end of film.

Free-for-all race at Charter Oak Park CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1897. SUMMARY From Maguire & Baucus catalogue: Shows a part of the enormous crowd and the start and finish of the free-for-all pacing race, in which the fastest harness horse in the world, John R. Gentry (2:00-1/2), the coming Star Pointer and Frank Agan competed for a purse of 6,000. The heat we photographed was won by Star Pointer in the fast time of 2:04-3/4.

Freight train CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1898. SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: The long train is just coming out of the tunnel. An engine and a header, nineteen freight cars, a caboose and a pusher engine creep slowly round the curve and up the steep grade. Fine smoke effects. Magnificent scenery.

Funeral leaving the president's house and church at Canton, Ohio CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901. SUMMARY In order to film the funeral of President McKinley, the photographer placed his camera in three locations. The first scene shows the casket being carried from his home by the honor guard and placed in the hearse. The second scene shows the hearse, the honor guard, and people lining the streets. The third scene shows the celebrities who attended the funeral preceding the casket out of the church. The final scenes are of the people watching the casket being placed in the hearse again.

This CD is created to run on both Windows and Macintosh computers using an HTML menu to navigate to the various movies. IMPORTANT: These CDs are designed to be played in your computer - not your DVD player.