A Morning Bath (1896)

A Morning Bath

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"Mammy is washing her little pickaninny. She thrusts him, kicking and struggling, into a tub full of foaming suds." - from the Edison Catalog

"After the Ball, the Bath" (1897)

Après le bal

After the Ball (French: Après le bal) is a short French silent film created and released in 1897 and directed by Georges Méliès.

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After the Ball (aka Après le bal) features a maid assisting a woman (Jeanne d'Alcy, who would later become the wife of Georges Méliès).

Santa Claus (1898)

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a 1898 British short silent drama film, directed by George Albert Smith, which features Santa Claus visiting a house on Christmas Eve. 

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"In this picture you see Santa Claus enter the room from the fireplace and proceed to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney. This film surprises everyone, and leaves them to wonder how old Kris disappears." 

Written by Lubin Films (1907)

King John (1899)

King John

King John is the title of the earliest known example of any film based on Shakespeare, a very short silent film made in black and white in 1899.

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The first known movie of a William Shakespeare work. Only this one of the four scenes survives -- King John's death. Alternate title: Beerbohm Tree, the Great English Actor.

Free-for-All Race at Charter Oak Park (1897)

Free-for-All Race at Charter Oak Park

Fred Ott Sneeze (1894)

Fred Ott Sneeze (1894)

Leonard Crushing Fight (1894)

Leonard Crushing Fight

Cuban Ambush (1898)

Cuban Ambush

Tourists Going Round Yellowstone Park (1899)

Tourists Going Round Yellowstone Park

Fishing smacks (1897)

Fishing smacks

Coaches arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs (1897)

Coaches arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs

Hockay Match on the Ice (1898)

Hockay Match on the Ice

Ella Lola, A la Trilby (1898)

Ella Lola, A la Trilby

Secretary Long and Captain Sigsbee (1898)

Secretary Long and Captain Sigsbee

Statue of Liberty (1898)

Statue of Liberty

Transport 'Whitney' Leaving Dock (1898)

Transport 'Whitney' Leaving Dock

Launch of Japanese Man-of-War 'Chitosa' (1898)

Launch of Japanese Man-of-War 'Chitosa'

Lurline Baths (1897)

Lurline Baths

Leander Sisters (1897)

Leander Sisters

Sutro Baths, No. 1 (1897)

Sutro Baths, No. 1