Automobile parade / motion picture

The first annual automobile parade, held on November 4, 1899 by the Automobile Club of America, in downtown Manhattan. At least ten different makes and models are seen, including electric and steam powered machines. In the background is Madison Square Garden. As the cars pass, turning towards the right side of the screen, cyclists and pedestrians can also be seen, including a man on a motorized tricycle. About one minute into the film, a carriage pulled by a white horse is driven past the camera, and a horse-drawn hansom cab is seen waiting for the parade to pass.
D3293 U.S. Copyright Office
Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 6Feb1900; D3293.
Camera, William Paley.
Duration: 1:52 at 15 fps.
Photographed November 4, 1899. Location: Madison Square, New York, N.Y.
In 1896, Henry Ford, Charles Brady King, Alexander Winton and Ransom Eli Olds had each introduced their gasoline cars. In 1900, the first National Auto Show was held at Madison Square Garden. In 1901, new oil fields in Texas made gasoline affordable and mass production techniques were introduced into car manufacturing.
Paper print shelf number (LC 1470) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
Paper print shelf number, LC 128, originally on this record, was incorrect. It had been assigned to the film, His name was Mud, also in the Paper Print Collection.
Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 18; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900, p. 563-564; New York times, November 4, 1899, p. 12, viewed online via ProQuest Historical Newspapers, November 2, 2015; Edison films catalog no. 94 (March, 1900), p. 38.
Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.