Comments on: Holmes' and Watson's World

Holmes' and Watson's World

digaman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:01:27 -0800

One minute and four seconds in London, 1904. Birkbeck College professor Ian Christie rediscovered this footage in an archive in Canberra, shot for a travelogue by film pioneer Charles Urban.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:05:03 -0800

Awesome. I like how it's slowed down to nearly real-time instead of zipping along like a Benny Hill chase.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:06:16 -0800

(where are the other nine minutes that supposedly exist?)

By: hippugeek

hippugeek — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:13:14 -0800

Oh, what a neat find. Everyone is scratching and wiping their noses. I don't know if it's because they had the sniffles from colds or bad air, or they weren't used to being filmed, or just confirmation bias because I'm used to seeing people in clothes like that staged and perfect, but I loved it. That was the little detail that made it alive for me.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:17:11 -0800

Fantastic. Liked the bloke who spotted the camera and adjusted his cravat. The cockney knees-up kept the knees low too, more like clog.I'd love to see the rest of the footage too.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:18:27 -0800

This is odd timing. We just came back from Trafalgar Square where a huge screen was set up and we, along with thousands of others, listened to a live band play music to accompany films of London in the early 20th century.

By: potsmokinghippieoverlord

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:21:52 -0800

OW wouldn't it be luverly....? <-- prances off for some choc'lates to eat

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:21:58 -0800

The woman at the beginning wiping her eye, and the boy on the bridge mugging for the camera... totally disarmed me.

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:22:57 -0800

There's some more here.

By: Nick Verstayne

Nick Verstayne — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:26:15 -0800

By: cillit bang

cillit bang — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:29:04 -0800

The last scene is of Ludgate Circus, and is remarkably similar to this drawing thereof.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:32:00 -0800

The Thames as a working river, which you get a glimpse of at gubo's link, must have given the city such a different feel. All long dead bar a bit of tourist traffic by the time I lived there.

By: digaman

digaman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:34:31 -0800

I was prompted to wonder where those boys were 12 or 14 years from then - Mons, the Somme, Gallipoli. Incredibly sad Indeed. I was just researching a story for Wired in the UK, and was at Oxford for several days. In one of the chapels, there was a wall with an inscription of the names of the Oxford boys who died in the first World War. It seemed like large portion of the brilliant student body must have gone off to die in those trenches. I wonder what knowledge would have added to the world?

By: digaman

digaman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:35:10 -0800

*what knowledge they would have added

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:36:42 -0800

Ooh, he was is Calcutta/Kolkata in 1899 too.

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:39:08 -0800

The boys playing in the water- The Serpentine perhaps?

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:41:32 -0800

So many hats!

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:41:50 -0800

That was my thought on seeing those boys, too-- the soldiers of the next decade. Also that the little girl in the enormous hat could have been my grandmother, who was born in 1899. Thanks for this, it was terribly moving.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:42:45 -0800

Think it said a pond in St James's Park in the Telegraph article.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:43:55 -0800

Ah ok. Reading the bottom of grubo's link it appears this wasn't a coincidence...

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:52:05 -0800

Oooh, so it was taken in the summer of 1904? It would be several more levels of awesome if one of the days of filming was June 16th. Bloomsday in action!

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:55:01 -0800

Omg, that brought tears to my eyes. What an incredible 1 minute and 4 seconds time travel back to that time of 1904. What a surreal feeling. The faces were so vivid. Thanks digaman. Yeah, I want to see the other minutes of that film as well. Had to find out about the history of film. The second oldest film ever made, in 1888. The rare films from that time, like this Electric Hotel one from 1905, Life of Christ, 1905 or my fave, Trip to the Moon, 1902, are not remotely as clear as the beautiful film you linked. And not anything about real life, real street scenes. You gave me the treat of time travel. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to get even a minute glimpse like that into the 1700's or other centuries? If I'd known you were in Oxford I would have suggested you spend a twilight half an hour at Ot Moor, watching those starlings I love so much. On preview, wow Abiezer, that's an amazing find too! Thanks.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:58:31 -0800

Riveting—I wish there were more. Thanks for the post. So many hats! My people!

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:00:43 -0800

Ooh, he was is Calcutta/Kolkata in 1899 too. No he wasn't; that's Benares. Before I read the explanation on the right, I was very confused: "What the...? Where in Calcutta could that be?"

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:04:19 -0800

Rewatching the "Calcutta" footage and actually reading their info, despite that being the title of the film it's actually Venaris apparently. Doesn't mention Urban there but the video was linked off the Urban site. Oh well, interesting either way.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:04:49 -0800

Ah, we really must get a preview button. :D

By: seanmpuckett

seanmpuckett — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:05:43 -0800

Yeah just really simply thinking: whoa, all of those people are dead.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:06:12 -0800

/me recreates this film in loving detail, posts to blue, is derided as a steam punk

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:16:26 -0800

Holy cats, this footage is amazing. The little dancing girl, especially; I wish there were hours more footage of people dancing. You just can't transmit that through paper. Wow.

By: gomichild

gomichild — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:37:22 -0800

That was rather awesome.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:43:11 -0800

Awesome. The little girl dancing is my favorite, but in general, the huge nunber of people in the streets just sort of milling around and everything seems so .. organic .. no plastic or much metal, mostly just cloth and wood and stone. Wonderful warm texture we have lost. BTW if your interested in this period there is a new book out called The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914 - I'll be posting a review on Amazon in the next few weeks. I've read other works by the author and he is great.

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:44:04 -0800

Having it be the correct speed really made it come alive. It really is like time travel.

By: carter

carter — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:46:01 -0800

Nice, thanks for this, digaman.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:48:49 -0800

very, very nice... I too was thrilled by the boy on the bridge... thanks

By: philip-random

philip-random — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:52:57 -0800

I was prompted to wonder where those boys were 12 or 14 years from then - Mons, the Somme, Gallipoli. Incredibly sad. Brings to mind the final words of Stanley Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON: "Good or bad, rich or poor, they're all dead now."

By: buzzman

buzzman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:56:46 -0800

Fascinating. Just look at us now.

By: freshwater_pr0n

freshwater_pr0n — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:01:44 -0800

So, so cool. I love the little boy on the bridge at 00:12 striking a rakish pose, and readjusting into an even more rakish pose, and the woman at 00:28 dancing with babe in arms. Also: BOVRIL!

By: Monkeymoo

Monkeymoo — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:33:05 -0800

Thank you for posting this - it's an awesome bit of footage :-)

By: vronsky

vronsky — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:36:20 -0800

Very cool digaman. Thanks for this. Btw, have you done your interview with Laurie Anderson yet? (Love those starlings Nicky)

By: buzzman

buzzman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:24:22 -0800

Just noticed bicycles are still moving faster than the surrounding traffic. Ahhh, progress.

By: the cydonian

the cydonian — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:41:53 -0800

I'm confused about the last bit (0:53 min onwards). Why is the train on that bridge going backwards? Was initially presuming the video was also playing backwards, but everyone on the street seem to be walking/ driving forward. It's just the train.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:44:54 -0800

Britain filmed in colour for the first time, 1926: Climbing Borrowdale Fells

By: GhostintheMachine

GhostintheMachine — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:56:59 -0800

Double-decker horse-drawn busses? For some reason, that just surprises me. This captures in a way no history book really does the realization that history is just full of everyday people doing ordinary stuff.

By: mcrandello

mcrandello — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:58:54 -0800

I love it, buzzing the camera wasn't even a concept back then. Cydonian: perhaps there was a train yard or loading dock just beyond the bridge there and they were backing the cars in on a side line or something. That was a pretty awesome thing to capture on film regardless of what was going on, thanks for pointing it out.

By: captainsohler

captainsohler — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:02:30 -0800

Lots of good ankle sighting to be had here

By: Nick Verstayne

Nick Verstayne — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:04:47 -0800

Oh, and seriously - that little girl is Michael Flatley's Granny, and he only got a small percentage of the skill. Class.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:39:39 -0800

Britain filmed in colour for the first time, 1926: Climbing Borrowdale Fells Quality! Tab and a kipper then up the hill. Suspiciously Bohemian, mind.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:48:54 -0800

Great post and many fine added links in the comments, thank you all. Question: Why is the film in the OP so much more clear and sharp than other surviving films from the same era?

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:03:48 -0800

Cool to see the ad for Pears soap at the very end. I use it daily.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:27:47 -0800

Two thumbs up! It really is fascinating. Another world, almost entirely. I wish more people wore hats in the year 2008.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:59:19 -0800

Way cool.

By: digaman

digaman — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:10:02 -0800

vronsky, yes I did do my interview with Laurie Anderson, and in fact, I saw "Homeland" for the second time tonight. Here's my piece on the show, with quotes from Laurie: National Insecurity. Good memory, vronsky!

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:27:43 -0800

Amazing footage.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:32:10 -0800

Mrs Bathurst!

By: chorltonmeateater

chorltonmeateater — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:53:09 -0800

Great link. Similar in era and feel to the Mitchell & Kenyon films that surfaced a few years ago (after a few pages, it stops being mostly football).

By: Wolof

Wolof — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:57:03 -0800

I found this deeply enjoyable, for which my thanks.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:07:53 -0800

It's amazing that we can look a century into the past. Humans are sometimes cool.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:19:14 -0800

I love the woman who is rubbing her eye and then looks at the camera with a sort of half-scowl, like she's going to turn to the camera man and mutter "This is going to be on YouTube, isn't it?" Also: in addition to all those hats! All those mustaches!

By: jetsetsc

jetsetsc — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:29:41 -0800

Wow. Whole lot of greenhouse gas emissions going on there. No wonder eyes are being rubbed.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:32:47 -0800

>The last scene is of Ludgate Circus, and is remarkably similar to this drawing thereof. You're right.

By: clon7

clon7 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:48:02 -0800

This is such a cool find--thanks!

By: jb

jb — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:54:04 -0800

Excellent find. What struck me was the footage of the boys with their trousers rolled up, playing on the banks of the Thames (given the shallows I'm guessing Hammersmith or Chiswick, but could be way off). I was prompted to wonder where those boys were 12 or 14 years from then - Mons, the Somme, Gallipoli. Incredibly sad. posted by Nick Verstayne at 7:26 PM on October 24 [5 favorites +] [!] I, too, couldn't help but think about how the world in this film - and so many of the boys and men - disapeered a decade later. London survived, relatively untouched, but none of the people did. The first World War has faded in many memories as the survivors pass on, and it's been hard for me to understand what a cataclysm it was for that society. But the more I learn about it, the more overwhelmed I am at the loss and destruction - to the point where I find it hard to think.

By: jb

jb — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:54:58 -0800

sorry - my comment should end "to the point where I find it hard to think about it."

By: alicesshoe

alicesshoe — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:50:58 -0800

This post has all kinds of greatness. Thanks to all contributors. Loved it all. from Mitchell & Kenyon. 'The top hatted gentlemen swimming...' Tynemouth Swimming Gala, zany. That Segundo de Chomon - El Hotel electrico is something else also. Whoa. Thanks digaman, including your wonderful piece on Laurie Anderson. Excellent./

By: digaman

digaman — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:21:46 -0800

Thank you!

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:31:21 -0800

Excellent is right. Thanks digaman! (and also this Lucien Bull film from 1904.)

By: tellurian

tellurian — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:16:57 -0800

Wonderful footage. I wonder what's in those round boxes that are on the cart at around 01:06, oysters maybe?

By: Onanist

Onanist — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:28:04 -0800

Wow, such an amazing window into another time and so clear! Thanks digaman. Makes me think of the brilliant BBC series The Thirties in Colour, which is available for download from various places, like Usenet, torrent sites, etc.