A Corner of Barnet Fair

From the BFI Collection, this film is actually two films spliced together into one. The first is Birt Acres' work 'A Corner of Barnet Fair' which is the first film seen . This shows a merry-go-round and some people sitting in a doorway while street traffic goes by. The second film is a fragment of unknown origin of a street outside a very large building of what looks like a possible theatre, with a large Victorian awning. the shop next door appears to be selling wines and spirits. A horse drawn charabanc goes past, followed by a male bicycli...

Untitled Kinetoscope Comedy

An 1895 British short black and white silent comedy film featuring two drunken men and a boy squabbling in a small bar.

Boxing Match; or, Glove Contest

Staged boxing match between Sergeant-Instructor Barrett and Sergeant Pope, with a round, interval, and knockout.

Opening of the Kiel Canal

The opening of the Kiel Canal in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 20 June 1895.

Royal Visit of the Cardiff Industrial and Fine Art Exhibition

Newsreel coverage of the Prince and Princess of Wales' visit of the 1896 Cardiff Exhibition. Now a lost film, it's considered the first time the British Royal Family was filmed.

The Boxing Kangaroo

The Boxing Kangaroo is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul’s peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring a young boy boxing with a kangaroo. The film was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme, originally shown in a portable booth at Hull Fair by Midlands photographer George Williams, donated to the National Fairground Archive was identified as being from this film.

Performing Animals; or, Skipping Dogs

A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring one dog jumping through hoops and another dancing in a costume, which was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme was identified as being from this film.

Rough Sea at Dover

The surf pounds against a breakwater on which are visible several people standing. The wall looks to be about 20 feet above sea level and extend at least 100 feet into the water. A large wave rolls picturesquely along the wall toward the shore. Smaller waves follow. Then the scene changes to river water flowing. We see both shores: in the foreground a log and tree branch are visible; on the far shore, there appears to be a low wall with trees beyond it. The camera is stationary in both shots.

The Derby 1895

A stationary camera, looking diagonally across a racetrack toward the infield, records the horses as they race past. Once they are out of view and the race is over, police officers run onto the infield. The crowd moves around.

Tom Merry, Lightning Cartoonist, Sketching Kaiser Wilhelm II

A tiny fragment of an actuality film of Tom Merry (William Mechem), a 'lightning sketch' caricaturist performing his act for the camera and producing a large profile caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The loss of the rest of the film has bequeathed us 6 seconds that are of Mechem standing next to the completed portrait and sadly, that is all there is. An early film made by Birt Acres for R.W. Paul. (see release information for further detail).