Mitchell and Kenyon Miscellaneous Offcuts
Intriguing fragments of Victorian and Edwardian footage left behind by Mitchell and Kenyon
This discarded footage shot by Edwardian filmmakers Mitchell and Kenyon makes for an interesting curio. It's evidence for the duo's quality control (the shots were obviously rejected because they were photographically poor). It's also, quite by accident, a rapid-fire tour of the filmmakers' world: waving kids and daring fire rescues, parades, football and fairs.
Why did Mitchell and Kenyon bother to keep hold of this 'scrap' material? It was almost certainly not for its contents, but simply for the economic benefit of being able to reuse unwanted physical film stock for technical purposes. A few spare feet of celluloid was always helpful to the thrifty film producer: 'leader' for other rolls of film, spliced to the start or end to allow them to be printed smoothly with no danger of any frames being accidentally missed. This is the reason why several M&K pieces start or end mysteriously, with snatches of random footage that have clearly wandered in from another film entirely. No doubt the producers kept several rolls of such trims and offcuts to hand.
Edwardian Enigmas
Who, what, where? Calling amateur detectives - can you help us solve these mysteries?
We've learned a lot about Mitchell and Kenyon since hundreds of their films were rediscovered in 1995. Research by the University of Sheffield and the BFI revealed a wealth of background detail about the films, the events they depict, how they were commissioned and shown. But a few films have so far stubbornly refused to give up their secrets.
So now's your chance to play amateur detective. Do you recognise this town, that street, those factory gates, that football team... even a face in the crowd? If you can, please let us know. And if you can't, you can still enjoy these heady slices of Edwardian (or Victorian) life.
18 videos in this collection
Factory Exit in Lincoln (1900)
Unidentified Chinese Men (c.1900)
Parade of Schoolchildren (c.1902)
Textile Workers Leaving a Factory (c.1901)
Workers Leaving a Factory in Wigan (1902)
Watch in libraries only
Scene Outside a Factory (c.1902)
Employees Leaving a Factory (c.1901)
Street Scenes in North of England (c.1902)
Factory Gate Exit (c.1901)
Exit of Clerical and Factory Workers (c.1901)
Unidentified Factory Gate Exit in Lancashire (c.1900)
Workforce Leaving a Factory in the North of England (c.1900)
Unidentified Factory Gate (c.1900)
Workers Leaving a Factory (1900)
Mitchell and Kenyon Unidentified Fiction Offcuts
Ship Departing from Port (c.1901)
