Dickson Greeting | 1891 | Documentary, Short

Title: Dickson Greeting | 1891 | Documentary, Short Director: William K. L. Dickson Studio: Edison Manufacturing Company Starring: William K. L. Dickson Release Date: May 20, 1891 Runtime: 0 Format: Experimental 19 mm , preserved on 35 mm; black-and-white; silent; filmed at the Edison Laboratory, West Orange, New Jersey Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Documentary, Short, Experimental --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Opening frame 00:00:01 Hat raised 00:00:02 Bow and smile 00:00:03 Motion repeats --- Summary: A brief motion study of William K. L. Dickson tipping his hat and acknowledging the viewer. The film consists of a single, simple action designed to demonstrate smooth, natural movement on camera. As an early actuality, it has no narrative, serving instead as a proof-of-concept for the emerging motion picture apparatus developed at Thomas Edison’s laboratory. --- Background: Filmed on May 20, 1891 at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, this demonstration was created to showcase the Kinetograph camera and Kinetoscope viewing box to invited guests from the National Federation of Women’s Clubs. The surviving material is fragmentary and preserved on 35 mm stock, though the original experimental recording used a horizontal-feed 19 mm format with single-edge perforations. --- Trivia: Often cited as the first American motion picture shown to a public audience. William Heise operated the camera for this demonstration. The subject is Dickson himself, one of the key engineers behind Edison’s motion picture system. A fragment of the film survives in the Library of Congress. Earlier Edison laboratory tests, known as the Monkeyshines films, predate this public demonstration. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: May 20, 1891 Original Studio / Distributor: Edison Manufacturing Company Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: No --- Hashtags: DicksonGreeting WilliamKLDickson Edison SilentFilm EarlyCinema 1891 PublicDomain LibraryOfCongress Kinetoscope Documentary Source page: https: //www.loc.gov/item/00694118/ Direct media URL: https: //tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mbrs/ntscrm/02774267/02774267.mp4