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Please do not sell copies of this film! It has been uploaded to YouTube so that everybody can enjoy it. === About the Video === Phantomwise and I are aware of 3 prints of this film that are currently in existence: • One is in the private collection of film collector David Schaefer. The older video on Phantomwise's YouTube channel is sourced from this print. • Another is held by the Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Unfortunately, due to its condition and their lack of any film projection equipment, they are unable to screen it. • The last one we know of is in the archives of the Library of Congress. This print is the source for this video. All of these prints are in the unique and short-lived 22mm Edison Home Kinetoscope format. Such prints were produced in order to sell or rent to the home market, which was very unusual for the time. A print could be rented or purchased for prices varying from $ to $20, and the equipment to view them cost between $65 and $90. [1] The unusual size of these prints is far from the only complication for preservation. In order to reduce the amount of material used, these prints have an unusual arrangement with 3 images side-by-side with the sprocket holes between them. The film was intended to be screened using a special projector. In order to screen the print, “the strip of film would first be cranked clockwise, then when the images stopped the user would then turn a knob to adjust the positioning of the gate and then crank the film counterclockwise. Finally, the user would adjust the position of the gate again and turn clockwise for the last length of the strip.“ [2] The unusual format means that modern scanning equipment generally cannot be used to preserve these prints. Fortunately, in 2001, the National Archives of Canada and the Library of Congress jointly developed a specialized piece of equipment that is able to optically transfer these 22mm prints to standard 35mm prints that can then be processed using standard methods. [3] This is the process that was used to produce this video. The video received from the Library of Congress was a bit washed out, and it was clear that the print was bouncing around a lot during the transfer process, probably due to degradation and damage from over the years. I have done my best to stabilize it and improve the contrast in order to produce something more pleasant to watch. === Sources === 1. 2. 3.
