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Edison's Life-Size Animated Pictures

Poster
ca. 1900-1902 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Morrow, Albert (artist)
Place of origin
United Kingdom (printed)
Birmingham (issued)

This poster was produced to advertise 'Edison's Life-Size Animated Pictures of China and the Boer Wars', and 'Life in Birmingham' in England at the Curzon Hall, Birmingham, about 1901. 'Animated pictures' were first shown in Britain in variety theatres, appearing from 1896 as part of the evening's otherwise live entertainment. Albert Morrow's poster shows the fascination of the audience for the novel medium at Birmingham's Curzon Hall where, by 1901, films were the mainstay.

Object details

Categories
Entertainment & Leisure
Prints
Advertising
Posters
Object type
Poster
TitleEdison's Life-Size Animated Pictures (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Colour Lithography
Brief description
'Edison's Life-size Animated Pictures, China and Boer Wars'. Colour lithograph poster advertising a cinematic showing at the Curzon Hall, Birmingham. Designed by Albert George Morrow, Great Britain, ca.1902.
Physical description
'Edison's Life-size Animated Pictures, China and Boer Wars'. Colour lithograph poster advertising a cinematic showing at the Curzon Hall, Birmingham. The image shows a cinema audience viewing a projection of text giving details of the show.
Dimensions
  • Height: 74.4cm
  • Width: 50.8cm
Measurements taken from: Summary Catalogue of British Posters to 1988 in the Victoria & Albert Museum in the Department of Design, Prints & Drawing. Emmett Publishing, 1990. 129 p. ISBN: 1 869934 12 1
Marks and inscriptions
  • Signed.
  • 'CURZON HALL / Birmingham / Twice Daily at 3 and 8. / Continued Enormous Success of - - - / EDISON'S / LIFE-SIZE / ANIMATED PICTURES / CHINA & BOER WARS. / REPRODUCTIONS OF / LIFE IN BIRMINGHAM ! ! ! / 500 Marvels of Animated Photography ! ! / The Sight of a Lifetime ! ! / Do Not Miss this Great Treat ! ! ! / Open at 2-30 & 7. Commence at 3 & 8. Early Doors at 7. / PRICES-3s., 2s, 1s., and 6d. / Proprietors - - - - - The Thomas-Edison Animated Photo Co.' (Lettered within the design as a projected image viewed by the audience.)
  • 'DAVID ALLEN & SONS LTD / 17 Leicester St / LONDON -W- / HARROW - BELFAST - MANCHESTER - / GLASGOW & DUBLIN (Copyright Resd)' (Lettered in bottom-left corner of image.)
  • 'A / MORROW' (Lettered in bottom-right corner of image.)
Credit line
Given by Norman B. Stone
Subjects depicted
Cinemas
Projector
Audience
Summary
This poster was produced to advertise 'Edison's Life-Size Animated Pictures of China and the Boer Wars', and 'Life in Birmingham' in England at the Curzon Hall, Birmingham, about 1901. 'Animated pictures' were first shown in Britain in variety theatres, appearing from 1896 as part of the evening's otherwise live entertainment. Albert Morrow's poster shows the fascination of the audience for the novel medium at Birmingham's Curzon Hall where, by 1901, films were the mainstay.
Bibliographic references
  • Summary Catalogue of British Posters to 1988 in the Victoria & Albert Museum in the Department of Design, Prints & Drawing. Emmett Publishing, 1990. 129 p. ISBN: 1 869934 12 1
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1932. London: HMSO, 1933
  • The Thomas Edison Animated Photo Company had no direct connection with Edison himself. They underwent a legal challenge over the use of the name circa 1903 after which they were known as the National Pioneer Animated Photo Company. There may be a connection with a Scottish showman and early filmmaker Albert Duncan Thomas who passed himself off as Thomas Edison circa 1900. See 'Cinema and Cinema-Going in Scotland, 1896-1950' by Trevor Griffiths, published by the Edinburgh University Press, 2012, for further information.
Other number
27/E4 - V&A microfiche
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.3312-1932

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Record createdFebruary 18, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74655/edisons-life-size-animated-pictures-poster-morrow-albert/
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