Edwardian Age Captured on Film

[Dave Gittins]

The British have discovered a remarkable collection of short films depicting real life in Edwardian times. They are in exceptional condition, as they are the original negatives, not the positives that have been worn by repeated use. Nothing on Titanic, but some shipyards are shown. For the moment, they will only be shown in Britain.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1384840,00.html

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Some of this footage will be shown as a BBC2 series of 3 programmes (each one hour), the first to be aired at 9pm on Friday, Jan 14, under the title The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon. Apparently the whole collection would amount to 28 hours of viewing time "if translated to DVD or video" - a mouth-watering prospect. But fans of the Gilded Age please note - this is strictly 3rd Class territory!

 

[Sandy McLendon]

There is more information on these films at the British Film Institute website, including an image gallery with stills of an unidentified Cunard liner, and some of Blackpool North Pier. To get to the page, go to:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/mk/index.html

And select the "Image Gallery" link for two pages of stills in thumbnailed form. They're all clickable for larger versions.

The quality of the images is most extraordinary; these frame grabs are from prints struck off preservation negatives done from the 100+ year-old original negatives that were in pristine condition. P.S.- Amazing amount of clothing that Britons wore in June then, eh? Looks like enough to get someone through a hard winter in Juneau, Alaska.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

These are wonderful and how maddening we only see the very tip of the stern of that liner. Maybe Jim K or Mark Baber can identify her. Nothing beats a counter stern-dated 1901 I am wondering who she might be.

 

[Dave Gittins]

Pity the stewardesses in their corsets! What a way to dress for work!

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

The Greatest Game Ever Played, set in 1913 has opened this week in most theatres, and is a great true story. For once, Edwardian men's clothing can be seen in detail. Click here for the trailer on the Disney site. Lovely soundtrack too. President Taft even makes an appearance (avid golfer that he was, without his Archie Butt, alas)
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/greatestgame/index_main.html