Year 1900 - 10

This panoramic scene is taken from a Seine steamboat and gives a rapid view of the banks of the river...

The reception to the future King Edward VII upon his arrival to Edinburgh in 1899.

A moving tour through lively turn-of-the-century Southampton.

Recovering from a severe illness (likely typhoid), W.K.L. Dickson received word from London that the audience's enthusiasm for the military was lessening. He sent back this celebration of the expanding empire in response, capturing the annexation ceremony of 28 May 1900. "Thanks to the Biograph, which faithfully recorded this magnificent scene," Dickson later wrote, "the people of the world who were not as fortunate as those present will see what it saw, and doubtless sing 'God Save The Queen'".

A man exchanges shoe blacking for his friend's soap.

A series of short motion-studies of athletes for the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

Although we are led to believe that the ancient alchemists were all powerful, this picture somewhat reverses the order of things...

A trio of prankish boarders wreak havoc on their landlady and an intervening policeman.

This very dramatic scene appears to come from the heart of the Boer War action, but on closer inspection it is clear that Joe Rosenthal staged this scene in South Africa with the help of a co-operative group of cavalry. Staged skirmishes like this were common at the time, with the bulky camera preventing more intimate acquaintance with the fighting.

A client has trouble listening to the photographer's instructions.

Cleveland Fire Department rushes to extinguish a fire as a crowd watches.

The picture opens with the Sultan lying down to rest on his luxurious cushioned couch. The scene changes to the grounds around the palace.

A performance with sound from comedian Jules Moy.

A film in which limbless Nikolai Kobelkoff demonstrates a series of tasks, from aiming a pistol to performing gymnastics. Kobelkoff was born without arms and legs but persevered, becoming an international star in the early 20th century as a "Human Torso".

You’ll need your sea legs to watch this film, which was apparently filmed from a perilous position on the ship’s mast - in rough seas. This is a nautical example of a 'phantom ride' - in which a camera is mounted on a moving vehicle - a popular genre among early filmgoers for the still-novel sensation of travel it offered. Thanks to the swelling waves, the effect when projected on a screen is rather queasier than the comparatively gentle train or tram journeys that were more typical phantom ride subjects. Waves on Bow of a Ship was made by Warwick Trading Company, a leading British film production and distribution company between 1898-1915.

A woman in ballet slippers wearing a large white hat and a long white dress - with ruffles, puffy sleeves and petticoats - dances across water with roiling waves behind her. She holds the edges of the skirt with her hands, lifting and twirling, sometimes exposing her bloomers and a dark garter on one leg. Her style combines ballet with the exuberant kicks and twirls of a burlesque dance hall. With churning waves behind her, the water seems to wash beneath her feet. The film of the dancer, "M'lle. Cathrina Bartho" (1899), is superimposed on that of the water, "Upper Rapids, from Bridge" (1896).

Muskoka Lake District, Canada. Beautiful picture, showing a man casting a fly, getting a strike, and landing the trout.

Shows all the prominent buildings on this thoroughfare, ending with a close view of the base of the Eiffel Tower, with the Trocadero Palace in the background.

This picture opens with the young cadets climbing the rigging and going through the sail drill on board the famous historic ship "Constellation." Loosing sail to buntline, making sail, shortening sail and furling; also loose sail to bowline. This picture is absolutely perfect photographically; also very thrilling, and makes a most interesting subject.