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MINEHEAD
Jean-Claude SEGUIN
Minehead est une ville du comté de Somerset, en Angleterre (Grande-Bretagne).
1897
Le chronophotographe de W. D. Slade (août 1897)
William David Slade, marchand de chaussures à Cheltenham, qui s'intéresse depuis plusieurs années aux projections lumineuses, fait l'acquisition d'un chronophotographe Demenÿ, à la fin de l'année 1896, avec lequel il va organiser des séances de photographies animées. Il va faire équipe, jusqu'en juillet 1897, avec Walter Robert Booth, un prestidigitateur magicien et ventriloque. Cependant, en août 1897, la séparation est consommée et Slade, qui vient d'organiser quelques soirées à Swansea et à Weston-super-Mare, se présente à Minehead, pour une séance prévue le 24 août 1897, dans le Public Hall de la ville. Il fait équipe, ici, avec Walter Banks, chargé de la partie musicale et humoristique de la soirée :
Animated Pictures. One of the largest audiences that have assembled in the Public-hall was gathered together on Tuesday evening, the attraction being Mr. Slade's animated pictures, including amongst many other subjects the London diamond jubilee procession. So great was the crush and so early did the audience arrive that the management had some difficulty in dealing with them, and some inconvenience, for which apology was made, was experienced by many who had booked seats in advance and did not arrive until the performance was about to commence. The exhibition of pictures was very successful, the apparatus by which they were shown being a very perfect one, and they embraced not only the animated pictures, which were the principal feature, but ordinary dissolving views, including local scenes, pictures of children, village and farm life, animals, land and seascapes, and scenery of various kinds, all vividly depicted upon the screen. Good as these were, the chief interest centred, however, in the moving scenes, of which there were about twenty, all exceedingly life-like, and they were received with cordial applause. Some of the most successful were a riding lesson, a squadron of Dragoons leaping hurdles, Soudanese bathing, steamer disembarking passengers, a seascape showing waves dashing on rocky shore, and horses drawing stone in a Paris street. The pictures concluded with some admirable moving views of the diamond jubilee procession in London, which were marvellously realistic. Besides the lantern views Mr. Walter Banks gave some clever humorous musical recitals, after the style of the late Mr. Corney Grain, which gave much pleasure, and humorous yarn, “My Awful Experiences with a Whistler,” fairly brought down the house. So successful was the entertainment that it was announced that second visit would be paid to Minehead in the second week in September.
West Somerset Free Press, Williton, samedi 28 août 1897, p. 5.
L'article, pour une fois, ne se limite pas à donner de vagues informations, mais souligne quelques difficultés à l'heure de mettre en place les projections animées, même si l'on souligne par ailleurs la perfection des vues. Si les films du Jubilé de la Reine restent sans doute un moment de choix, toute une série de photographies vivantes du catalogue Gaumont sont proposées au spectateur.
1904
Le Bioscope de H. M. Lomas (Public Hall, 12-13 septembre 1904)
Le Bioscope de H. M. Lomas s'installe au Public Hall, pour deux jours, et présente des vues animées du catalogue de Charles Urban :
"The Wilds of Borneo on the Bioscope
Mr. H. M. Lomas has made arrangements with Mr. Matt. Raymond to exhibit at the Public Hall, Minehead, the above animated pictures of Wild Tropical Life among the Head Hunters of that almost unknown land, taken by Mr. Lomas for the Government of North Borneo, with the co-operation of His Excellency the Governor and Officers of the Service; also
"The Devon and Somerset Staghounds on the Bioscope,"
With a Kill in the Exe, run with great success at the Alhambra, the Palace, the Hippodrome, London and at the leading Halls in England and the Colonies, in America, and on the Continent.
8.30 p.m. each night.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th
TUESDAY, " 13th
Admission-Reserved Seats, 3s.; Unreserved, 2s., 1s, and a few, 6d.
West Somerset Free Press, Williton, samedi 3 septembre 1904, p. 8.
Un compte rendu de la séance est publié quelques jours plus tard :
The Wilds of Borneo and Staghunting with the Devon and Somerset.— A large audience assembled the Public-hall on Monday evening to hear Mr. H. M. Lomas lecture on "The Wilds of Borneo," and to see the magnificent pictures he has taken in that great and almost unknown land, twice the size of Great Britain. Mr. Lomas, who is a Minehead gentleman, was recently employed by the Charles Urban Trading Company to go to Borneo and take photographic pictures, bioscopic and otherwise, of the people and scenery, and he spent some months in British North Borneo carrying out this work, for which purpose he travelled all over that part of the country, both in the comparatively settled coast portion and in the wilds of the interior. As Mr. Lomas is expert photographer it might be expected that his pictures would be of great interest, which they have decidedly proved to be, and they have given the public, wherever they have been shown, a very large insight into the character of the country and the manners and customs of the people. The views shown at the Public-hall on Monday were kindly lent for the purpose by the Charles Urban Trading Company, who possess the original pictures which Mr. Lomas took. The animated pictures were preceded a. large number of excellent views of the country and people, all of which were lucidly explained by Mr. Lomas, one of the early pictures causing some amusement, as it showed Mr. Lomas and an assistant seated in front of a railway-engine, above the buffers, prepared, with his bioscope, to take pictures as the train proceeded. The bioscope pictures included native dances and beautiful views of inland scenery, the expedition on the march, crossing rivers, village life, &c. After a short interval, the second part of the entertainment was proceeded with, and this comprised bioscope pictures of runs with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. This part had been looked forward to with much interest, and the incidents were certainly good, Mr. Lomas having caught somo capital views both of the field and the stag, but the film did not work well, and the pictures broke off at points of greatest interest, this, however, it was said being no fault of the operator, who was expert bioscopist. The exhibition of both the Borneo and the staghunting pictures was repeated on Tuesday night, the latter then working more satisfactorily. The audience, however, was no means so large, but all were apparently much pleased, and the staghunting scenes especially were heartily applauded. They represented incidents in various runs, all embodied in one film, and among the scenes shown were the staghounds, led by the late Anthony Hoxtable, proceeding along a country lane to the meet, a meet in Dunster village, various incidents in connection with runs, showing the hounds in full cry, the field galloping over the moor, a fine picture of the stag taking moment of respite in a deep country lane, then more of the run, and, later, the stag swimming in the Exe with hounds after him, ending with the final scene of all where the dead stag is seen lying on the bank of the river with a crowd of people of all sorts around. The pictures give an excellent idea of our West-country sport.
West Somerset Free Press, Williton, samedi 17 septembre 1904, p. 8.