Barcelona 1908

March 29, 2009 3:02 PM

Barcelona 1908

Here is the same film with 2008 locations added. Previously

posted by various (23 comments total)

Do you suppose it was the camera, or simply the trolley that attracted the crowds? It was so interesting how they would run, and bike, and drive their carriages along in front of the trolley. I also found it fascinating that everyone was wearing jackets and hats, or caps. It seemed to have quite the hustle and bustle of a major city.

Lovely. Thanks various.
posted by netbros at 3:39 PM on March 29, 2009

I was thinking the same things, netbros. Great find, various.
posted by philfromhavelock at 3:43 PM on March 29, 2009

via?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:50 PM on March 29, 2009

The BFI on youtube have a treasure trove of stuff like this.

Blackfriars Bridge (1896)
Manchester (1901)
Glasgow (1901)
posted by fire&wings at 3:58 PM on March 29, 2009

I'm guessing it was the camera. Motion photography was still a novelty in 1908, and to see a camera out in public on a trolley must have been a double novelty.
And...what netbros said...Lovely. Post of the week, imho.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:02 PM on March 29, 2009

Barcelona 1909
posted by Sova at 4:03 PM on March 29, 2009

Kalebeul:

The film is by the Barcelona film-maker, Ricardo de Baños, whose oeuvre, produced for an audience including Alfonso XIII, combined Barcelona storm scenes with early flamenco, as well as porn flicks like Consultorio de señoras and anti-Protestant erotica like El confesor. [...]

posted by pracowity at 4:12 PM on March 29, 2009

anti-protestant erotica. Well, there's a fetish I hadn't heard of before.
posted by delmoi at 5:07 PM on March 29, 2009

That was beautiful - thank you.
posted by deliquescent at 5:16 PM on March 29, 2009

Sorry, it's a double. ("Ethnological" link.) I know because I was itchin' to post it on Friday, until I found the previous post.

One thing, though -- people in Barcelona, 1908, sure did like to run a lot.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:22 PM on March 29, 2009

Wow... footage of ghosts. Such a mass of people, none of whom are alive today. I'm used to photographs, I suppose, but it's interesting to see actual footage from generations ago.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 6:02 PM on March 29, 2009

Boston in 1903 was more crowded and less peaceful seeming.
posted by i'm being pummeled very heavily at 6:35 PM on March 29, 2009

I don't care if it's a double; thanks for sharing.
posted by Doohickie at 7:18 PM on March 29, 2009

My first thought: Cities of the future need/should/will look like this.
People on bikes, people riding public trolleys, & more dense communities.
I wonder what this street looks like today.
Lots more cars, and no trolleys I bet!
posted by QueerAngel28 at 7:20 PM on March 29, 2009

Absolutely enchanting. thanks *doffs hat*
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:34 PM on March 29, 2009

And this is an amazing Youtube comment:

"at the next cut at 1:26 the women with the large black hat on the right walking on the sidewalk with two children is my great grandmother Olivia Perez, the little girl is my grandmother"
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:06 PM on March 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

amazing Youtube comment

Whoa -- neat!

Also: never, ever did I think I'd see those three words next to each other.
posted by AwkwardPause at 8:52 PM on March 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

I live about twenty meters from where the Glasgow 1901 film was shot and can see the spot the camera would have been set up as I type. Thanks Fire&Wings that was quite surreal.
posted by theCroft at 6:54 AM on March 30, 2009

love the bikes and ditto to the "no one in this video is still with us" trippyness. Here's to hoping that the future is far more like this for our cities. More gliding bicycles and pedestrians, absolutely.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:40 AM on March 30, 2009

My first thought was, how disappointing -- Barcelona in 1908, and I didn't see any Gaudí! Wikipedia says Casa Batlló was completed in 1907 on Paseo de Gracia. Maybe someone who knows Barcelona well can tell where the trolley was in relation to that.
posted by mubba at 7:40 PM on March 30, 2009

to Mubba - Barcelona was and is a big city and we only saw a couple of streets, my memory is that we are a long way from de Gracia - but Google maps will settle it for you.

Meanwhile - have you ever seen so many happy fun loving people - adults and children alike - and how well groomed are both the people and the streets that we see, clean and ... almost joyful.

Barcelona was obviously a special place then as it is now.
posted by dodialog at 4:30 AM on March 31, 2009

Ahhh, thoroughly enjoyed that. The music is a nice accompaniment too. Barcelona is such a beautiful city. Interesting to see the boys and young men wearing smocks over their clothes. And funny to observe human nature walking on the tracks in front of the trolley, as if daring it.

Thanks for the post.
posted by nickyskye at 6:02 AM on March 31, 2009

Unfortunately, the film starts just before Paseo de Gracia crosses Diagonal. That's too far up to see the Casa Battló, which is a few blocks further down.

Everyone I know in Barcelona is amazed by this film. Thanks for the post!
posted by fuzz at 7:25 AM on March 31, 2009