By Sarah Currier on April 13, 2024

https://youtu.be/DDi62bPbWHw?si=llTBvV2mnFbHySBK

The footage from the Lumière brothers includes a playful snowball fight and potato sack race.

It’s easy to look at photos of people who lived in the past and assume that they were stern and serious. This is greatly due to the time-consuming photography techniques of the 19th century, which meant that they often had to sit in the same position for several minutes as the photo developed. However, vintage videos—which were often taken candidly and without a large time commitment on the part of the people they featured—shed new light on what life looked like over a century ago.

Recently, a YouTube channel called Lost in Time has revisited footage taken by the famous Lumière brothers in 1896, colorized it, and combined it into one video. The 17-minute video features footage from famous cities such as New York City, Paris, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Moscow, and Kyoto. Thanks to the channel, this footage—and the people in it—has been given new life.

One of the highlights of the video is a joyous snowball fight between adults somewhere in France. Even when a man riding by on his bicycle gets knocked off by a stray snowball, he briefly joins in the fun. Everyone is beaming as they pelt each other with fresh snow. Another clip from Lyon, France, captures an exciting potato sack race down a road in the village. A different memorable moment occurs in Barcelona as a deck worker pauses on a ramp to strike a pose for the camera. His coworker nudges him from behind, encouraging him up the ramp, even as the man continues to extend his arms and look at the camera. […]

Source: Colorized Video from 1896 Shows How People Work and Played