Here is Thomas Edison's film of the first automobile parade in New York City, in 1899 (the film was released in February 1900). Gasoline-powered cars had only been around for three years at the time, and not everyone was used to them - in particular, the horse at the midpoint of the film, who is most unimpressed by the procession of cars zipping past him. There are plenty of bicycles too - including a large tricycle that I liked very much.
And though I don't much like modern cars, I would love to have driven one of these!
14 comments:
Simply amazing video. Those cars were the toys of the very rich, as it was pre-Ford.
I was just going to comment on how well-dressed all the participants were.
And that poor horse! Wonder if he looked at all those passing vehicles an thought, "I'm doomed"?
I see what you mean about the tricycle.
The poor horse didn't seem to like the cars at all. It looked really, really cold too.
Have a terrific day. :)
It's practically a race! They must be going 3, maybe 5 miles per hour!
Thanks for posting this. It was fascinating.
That is pretty neat. My son LOVES Thomas Edison and hadn't seen his Automobile Parade film yet.
How RUDE of all those cars to go around that horse. Poor thing. My hubby got a ticket here in Charleston for doing that very thing that all those cars did (go around the horse).
Time has marched so quickly!
Da Old man - Yes, they must have been super-expensive then.
Jayne - I really felt sorry for that poor horse.
Sandee - It must have been really cold in those open cars, yes.
Contrariwise - It must have seemed SO fast in comparison to the horse and carriage!
Kris - I love Edison too, his films are so cool. And his inventions are not bad either.
Jayne - That's true...Now that I think of it, my oldest grandmother was 10 years old when this was made (oh, the questions I wish I had asked her!)
Amazing video! As I watched, I thought of the number of "roll overs" there might have been - those cars all seemed a bit top heavy.
What a nice piece of history!
Me-Me - I was thinking that too. That horse, and all those people, were really lucky.
Cute Irish Girl - It is, isn't it? Such great things are on You Tube! :)
That is so cool, to have record of that. I'm sure there were complaints of the speed of the cars
Lara - I'll bet there were. And I was really surprised to see that there was a film of this sort of thing, and that early.
Great find. Would you happen to know what building that is in the background?
Girl - I wish I did! If I can find out I will let you know.
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