This is film of Peking in the early 1900's, mostly of street and market scenes, that's been colorized and ambient sound added. Note that the men are wearing their hair in queues. The prominent gate that people are passing through is Zhengyang Gate, one of several impressive entrances to the central city through its ancient wall. The three arch structure that makes an appearance at around 13:25 is known as a paifang. Nary a motorized vehicle in sight. How things have changed.
Portugal in the 1950's -- Lisbon, fishing villages, cork harvesting, vineyards, and festivities, all in this short, colorized and sound-added restoration. The country was spared the destruction of World War II, so much of the old Portugal survives to this day. (In looking at this video from this time period, when we see the young children, we're looking at people who are in their 80's today, if they're still alive.)
This is colorized and sound-added film of everyday scenes in Bretagne (Brittany) in 1920, shortly after WWI. Coastal towns, fishing villages, the city of Brest, and the colorful residents of Bretagne over 100 years ago, set the scenes.
Today we have colorized and restored film shot in Warsaw, Poland, in the 1930's, a bustling city before the Nazis leveled it in World War II. The pre-war Jewish population of Warsaw was more than 350,000, or about 30 percent of the city's total population. The Nazi occupation, the Warsaw Ghetto, the concentration camps, then the Russian Communist puppet regime lasting 37 years; now the Warsaw and the people in this film are only fleeting, long ago lost images.
Here's a colorized, sound-added film of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, in 1902. Bradford became a boomtown during the Industrial Revolution as the "wool capital of the world." It's prosperity led to impressive civic investment, including some grand Victorian- style buildings built with massive sandstone blocks. While carriages, shops, and posh homes are all on display, the pollution and hardship of the textile industry and its workers remain in the background. The shots are taken from another civic investment -- an electric tram. It's always interesting to see how people react to the new technology of film when the camera is pointed their way.
Here's some colorized film (with sound added) of Moscow in the pre- World War II 1930's. Interesting scenes of the urban population, decaying buildings, and Red Square.
Here's a look at China (specifically Hong Kong and Shanghai) sometime in the 1930's (likely well before the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937). The colorized and sound-added film is focused on the various ways human energy is involved in transport, fishing, and other endeavors. At the very end is a brief view of an circa WWI American warship, presumably anchored near Shanghai.
Here's film of Jerusalem from 100 years ago, described as follows by the restorer, NASS:
I colorized, restored, and created a sound design for this 1925 footage of Jerusalem, featuring panoramic views from the surrounding hills, including Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives, the Old City, and the new city. The film showcases architectural landmarks such as the fortified walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Haram esh-Sharif, the Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Western Wall, part of the ancient structure of the Temple Mount. It also presents detailed views of the Old City from the northwest, including the Franciscan Monastery of San Salvatore, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Church of St. John the Baptist, as well as the western fortifications. Within the Old City, the footage reveals the vibrant atmosphere of its markets and streets, with scenes of small businesses, daily trade, and people gathering near the Jaffa, Damascus, and Herod Gates. It also depicts water distribution efforts during a period of drought and everyday activities in the historic quarters.
B&W Video Source: Musée départemental Albert-Kahn dans le département des Hauts-de-Seine (Sauvageot, Camille)
Please, be aware that colorization colors are not real and fake, colorization was made only for the ambiance and do not represent real historical data.
Albert Kahn, born Abraham Kahn in Marmoutier, Alsace, on March 3, 1860, and died in Boulogne-Billancourt on November 14, 1940, was a French banker and philanthropist. He amassed a major iconographic collection entitled Archives de la Planète, the world's largest collection of autochromes (color photographs on glass plates) and black-and-white films, housed at the Musée Départemental Albert-Kahn.
A fascinating look at pre-modern Jerusalem.
Edinburgh, Scotland, 1932. Dramatic views of a beautiful city and its people nearly 100 years ago.
We're going back to 1910, to Melbourne, Australia, for this look everyday city scenes from "Richmond Train Station, Collins Street, the Town Hall, Elizabeth Street, Little Collins Street, Swanston Street, St Paul's Cathedral, Bourke Street, the Treasury Building, Flinders Street Station," a boat regatta, an industrial show, and more. We always note some of the constants from these restored early- 19th Century films: the pace of life, the reliance on shoe leather or streetcars/ trains for transportation, and the elaborate, formal clothing that was part of the societal norm.
As we watch the Summer Olympics in modern Paris, here's a colorized and sound- added look at Paris in the summer of 1918 and January 1919. From the restorer:
... Shows various districts and monuments of the city, including arrondissement I, arrondissement VI, arrondissement VIII, arrondissement IX, arrondissement XVI, Saint-Denis, the Latin Quarter Saint-Martin and others.
Hope you enjoy.
We're going back 100 years again, to Vienna circa 1920, in this colorized, sound- added film. The ever- curious passersby, the fashions, the top- heavy double- decker buses, the traffic roulette (though less congested than last week's 1920 Paris), and the beautiful classical architecture are all there, and more.
Ah, Paris in 1920! The ambiance, the je ne sais quoi, the complete and utter lack of traffic rules! It's rather amazing that, during this 18- minute video, we didn't witness a car crash or pedestrian injury given the chaos. There are, however, some peaceful interludes on the Seine embankment and near the Louvre to settle you down. Another observation: you wouldn't go broke as a hat maker or seller; apparently you would no more go out in public without a hat than you would pants or a dress. Bon temps!
Here are some colorized, sound- added scenes from Cologne, Germany, and a boat trip on the Rhine River, with several somber religious processions thrown in (those Germans liked to march!). The clip indicates it's the 1920's, but it could be pre- WWI judging by the fashions and some of the conveyances. Either way, long ago!
Travel through London, Paris, Ostend, Bruges, Berlin (thankfully no Nazi flags), and Lucerne in 1936. In one shot, the film on the London marquee is for a Francis Lederer picture, "One Rainy Afternoon," released in 1936, which helps us date these home movies.
Travel through 1930's Europe (England, France, Belgium, Germany (pre- 1933 Reichstag fire), and Switzerland).
Take a (shaky, sometimes out of focus) 11 minute trip through eastern Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Cronulla, the Dandenong Range) in the 1920's. Information on the family that filmed this is at the very end.
This is film of Winkelweek ("Shopping week") in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1931. Let's go winkelen!
Here are scenes from post- World War I Paris, showing traffic on the Champs Élysées (lots of daredevil drivers), crowds looking at war materiel, the Paris Opera House, the Place de la Concorde, a statue of Claude Chappe (inventor of the semaphore telegraph system), deconstructing a protective structure around another statue, the Palais du Trocadéro (demolished in 1937, seen through the legs of the Eiffel Tower), and more. It's a lot more peaceful than Paris this week! (Colorized and sound added)
Here are scenes from Iceland in the 1930's/40s, showing Reykjavik, its harbor, doing laundry in a hot spring, the dramatic countryside, fishing for herring, a promenade in Siglufjord, and sheep!
