John Pollock sent this piece of film to How to be a Retronaut, via Matteo Farber. Over to John:

“This really is very Death in Venice. Slightly foreshadowed by the fact that war was about to [...]]]>

John Pollock sent this piece of film to How to be a Retronaut, via Matteo Farber. Over to John:

“This really is very Death in Venice. Slightly foreshadowed by the fact that war was about to break out. Timely in that last week the first official female gondolier was in the news…”

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Thank you to John Pollock and Matteo Farber.

“In these newly preserved tests, made in 1922 at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, actress Mae Murray is joined by actress Hope Hampton modeling costumes from The Light in the Dark (1922), which [...]]]>

“In these newly preserved tests, made in 1922 at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, actress Mae Murray is joined by actress Hope Hampton modeling costumes from The Light in the Dark (1922), which contained the first commercial use of Two-Color Kodachrome in a feature film. Ziegfeld Follies actress Mary Eaton and an unidentified woman and child also appear.”

- Kodak 1000 Words Blog

….. Video submission in July 2007 by San, Tom D. and Mr. Bastard to the site “Move your Mool” in response to the theme “anachronism”. Reproposed and reworked by San in June 2010 on behalf of Howling [...]]]>

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Video submission in July 2007 by San, Tom D. and Mr. Bastard to the site “Move your Mool” in response to the theme “anachronism”. Reproposed and reworked by San in June 2010 on behalf of Howling Monkeys.

Thank you to Robert Loch

“The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film [...]]]>

“The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film was produced by Ealing Studios. It was the first Ealing comedy shot in Technicolor and one of the first colour comedies made in the UK.”

- Wikipedia

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Thank you to UK On Screen, Richard Flaherty and Steve Travis.

““Fred Ott’s Sneeze” by the Edison Manufacturing Company was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States. In the five-second film, one of [...]]]>

““Fred Ott’s Sneeze” by the Edison Manufacturing Company was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States. In the five-second film, one of Thomas Edison’s assistants, Fred Ott, takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. The film was recorded between January 2, 1894 and January 7, 1894″

- Wikipedia

- Edison Manufacturing Company film (Directed by Edwin S. Porter)

“Interior of shoe-store. Young lady and chaperon enter. While a fresh young clerk is trying a pair of high-heeled slippers on the young lady, the chaperon seats [...]]]>

- Edison Manufacturing Company film (Directed by Edwin S. Porter)

“Interior of shoe-store. Young lady and chaperon enter. While a fresh young clerk is trying a pair of high-heeled slippers on the young lady, the chaperon seats herself and gets interested in a paper. The scene changes to a close view, showing the lady’s foot and the clerk’s hands tying the slipper. Her dress is slightly raised, showing a shapely ankle, and the clerk’s hands begin to tremble, making it difficult for him to tie the slipper. The picture returns to the previous scene. The clerk makes rapid progress with his fair customer, and while he is in the act of kissing her the chaperon looks up and proceeds to beat the clerk with an umbrella. Then she takes the young lady by the arm, and leads her from the store.”
- Edison Catalog

This beautifully soundtracked footage is taken from I Was There in Color, a documentary about the colour films made by Fred Monesson during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Monosson was a Jewish American businessman who [...]]]>

This beautifully soundtracked footage is taken from I Was There in Color, a documentary about the colour films made by Fred Monesson during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Monosson was a Jewish American businessman who died in 1972. His color archive was found in the basement of his house.

Monesson’s films incude the slient footage below of Aushwitz and Dachau.

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Thank you very much to Robyn Nabat.

This film, known as The Dickson Experimental Sound Film, is the first known film with live-recorded sound. The film features William Dickson playing the melody “Song of the Cabin Boy” from the light opera “The [...]]]>

This film, known as The Dickson Experimental Sound Film, is the first known film with live-recorded sound. The film features William Dickson playing the melody “Song of the Cabin Boy” from the light opera “The Chimes of Normandy“, composed by Robert Planquette in 1877.

The two men dancing are likely to be employees at Edison’s studio – the Black Maria. The lyric of the song they are dancing to describes life at sea without women.
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Thank you to Lady Crafthole.

Mima sent this clip to How to be a Retronaut. Over to Mima:

“It’s the visuals to the Gorillaz song “Cloud of Unknowing” sung by Bobby Womack, and features black and white and colour footage of [...]]]>

Mima sent this clip to How to be a Retronaut. Over to Mima:

“It’s the visuals to the Gorillaz song “Cloud of Unknowing” sung by Bobby Womack, and features black and white and colour footage of dogfights and the wreckage of WW2 planes (and possibly Gulf War planes and helicopters?) being dumped off aircraft carriers into the ocean. I saw Gorillaz play live at the Camden Roundhouse in April and this footage, combined with the haunting music, sent a shiver down my spine – it’s oddly moving.”
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Thank you very much to Mima.

This beautifully curated film was sent to How to be a Retronaut by Steve Weintraub. Over to Steve:

“I recently acquired a 20 minute reel of 16mm silent color home movies, shot in Maplewood, New [...]]]>

This beautifully curated film was sent to How to be a Retronaut by Steve Weintraub. Over to Steve:

“I recently acquired a 20 minute reel of 16mm silent color home movies, shot in Maplewood, New Jersey. Cars and clothes have changed, though the buildings and landscape remain much the same. The exposures are a bit uneven, but you get a very good flavor for everyday life in a typical American suburb. Enjoy”
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Thank you very much to Steve Weintraub.