It is rare for a venerable national film heritage – in this case dating to before 1900 – to suddenly find itself expanded by about 40 vues, or actualities. This is what happened in Switzerland with the recent digitization of the Lavanchy-Clarke collection by the Direction du patrimoine cinématographique (Film Heritage Department) of the CNC in Paris, which has housed the material since it was deposited in 1979 by the filmmaker’s descendants.

In fragile physical condition and uneven in formal quality, the collection is an assemblage of negatives and original prints produced between 1896 and 1904 by the Vaudois François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke (1848-1922). In 1896 he acted as agent for the Cinématographe Lumière, perhaps alongside Alexandre Promio and certainly with Constant Girel. Working independently from the firm in Lyon by the spring of 1897, he had at his disposal between one and three of the cameras manufactured by Jules Carpentier.

Introducing film screenings in Switzerland in May 1896, at the fairground of the Geneva National Exposition, Lavanchy-Clarke had come to the Lumières through Georges Demenÿ. He had been a shareholder of the Société Générale du Phonoscope (1892-1895), run by Demenÿ, the former assistant to J.-E. Marey, before setting his sights on the Lumières’ Cinématographe, as did another of the company’s three foreign shareholders, the German chocolate manufacturer Ludwig Stollwerck.

“Photographie animée” (“living pictures”) thus became a spectacular modern means of enacting indirect or direct advertising for Sunlight Soap, made by Lever Brothers of Liverpool, for whom Lavanchy-Clarke was the Swiss importer and then manufacturer.

While other itinerant operators began to travel around the country in the summer of 1896, the tours of the “véritable Cinématographe Lumière (Eviter les imitations)” [“the real Lumière Cinématographe (Avoid imitations)”] offered a programme consisting of vues from the official Lumière Catalogue and individual subjects filmed by Lavanchy-Clarke or his brother Emile Lavanchy (1857-1923), until 1898. We must add that the attribution of films to one cameraman or the other is rarely based on direct evidence and is often the result of deduction or hypothesis.

Our programme combines the two repertoires, mainly using Swiss subjects from the Lumière Catalogue, which guaranteed presentation worldwide, as well as those with distribution limited to Switzerland. In addition there are later vues shot in Cannes that were screened there, in private or in public. The collection also includes six actualities of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee made by Lavanchy-Clarke in June 1897, probably on behalf of Lever Brothers. While these are not presented here, it does remind us that his name must be added to the coverage of an event that no doubt brought together the largest number of cameramen at the close of the 19th century.

We have created six thematic sections, and without claiming to reflect the variable headings of the sales catalogues or programme announcements of the period, we have sought to establish groupings that seemed to us to correspond to contemporary interests.

Over 400 Cinématographes were manufactured and offered for sale starting in the spring of 1897, creating 35mm films with Lumière perforations but not associated with the company as regards production. This was the case with Lavanchy-Clarke, and provides one of the points of interest of our programme. As such, it continues the restorations presented at Pordenone in 2017 as part of the Haghefilm Digitaal – Selznick School Fellowships.

Our programme can also claim to attain other new goals.

Highlighting the intervention of the agent during the first year of the Cinématographe, which was in principle under the control of the firm in Lyon, helps to shift the focus of interest, which has traditionally limited itself to officially appointed cameramen.

Swiss subjects – some well-known, others now accessible for the first time – partake in a dual iconography here, combining the attractions of a country one could travel to, even if only in spirit, with imagery that contributed at the end of the 1800s to defining Switzerland itself, and for the first time through film. Some of the subjects have a familial dimension, connecting the photographs taken by Lavanchy-Clarke with the Kodak Panoram and the Autochrome Lumière even before it was commercialized.

In conclusion, these films, which represent perhaps half of Lavanchy-Clarke’s actual output, have prompted a historiographical renewal, notably enhancing what was achieved during the centenary of the Cinématographe in 1995. This contribution is based on extensive exploration of secondary sources and a methodological innovation in the field of identification – the use of digital tools.

The “hors production” Lumière actualities from the Lavanchy-Clarke collection were scanned and restored in 4K from the original nitrate by the CNC laboratory in 2021. Those from the Lumière Catalogue were digitized in 4K by ARRI (Munich) for Digital Humanities (University of Basel), from chemical restorations carried out in the 1990s by the CNC and from digital processing by the company Point de Vue in Basel.

The sometimes very decayed state of the original nitrate elements did not allow for all damage to be resolved. The transfer speed ranges from 18 to 16 fps, and even 14, often varying within the same film. The digital results reflect a search for the fairest balance.

This 39-minute programme of 42 vues is presented by the Direction du patrimoine cinématographique du CNC (Paris) in collaboration with the Institut Lumière (Lyon). It was curated by Dominique Moustacchi, editorial project manager at the Direction du patrimoine cinématographique, Roland Cosandey, historian (Vevey), and Hansmartin Siegrist, historian and filmmaker (Basel), who are also responsible for the individual film entries and notes.

Roland Cosandey, Dominique Moustacchi, Hansmartin Siegrist

Esposizione nazionale svizzera/Swiss National Exposition. Genève, 1896

Remarkably, the six vues in this section have been identified as shot on the same day. We present them in their presumed chronological order, between 9 am and 2 pm on 16 May 1896.

[TOBOGGAN AQUATIQUE] (CH 1896)
photog: [Emile Lavanchy]. riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 33″ (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 13 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from an original nitrate print.

At the Geneva Exposition fairground, the Water-Toboggan, a sensational American attraction, is enjoyed by members of the Lavanchy-Clarke family and the Swiss painter Cuno Amiet, but no one is aware of them since they look just like everyone else.

CORTÈGE ARABE (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 310.
photog: [Emile Lavanchy]. riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 45″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

At the fairground of the Swiss National Exposition in Geneva: Lavanchy-Clarke’s Palais des Fées, with his family on the steps (the Cinématographe Lumière programme is advertised on two posters, on pillars on either side of the entrance); the Arab procession passes among (staged) onlookers; in conclusion, Lavanchy-Clarke brings his nephew to the foreground. A full programme.

FÊTE AU VILLAGE (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 312.
photog: [Emile Lavanchy]. riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 32″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perfs. Lumière, incomp., 13 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

At the Village Suisse, the village fête is enacted by “anonymous” planted extras – the painter Ferdinand Hodler, no less, and his artist friends – brought to life by Lavanchy-Clarke, whose camera (unknowingly?) captures the hustle and bustle. The Village Suisse was the heart of the 1896 Swiss Exposition in Geneva, using national identity as its great attraction.

CASCADE (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 309.
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke? Emile Lavanchy?] riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 36″ (da/from interneg. nitr. orig. [anni Venti/1920s] + 2 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 14 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato.  /
Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

There’s everything here: a waterfall, animals (a herd of cows and goats), locals. Everything is false. Everything is a reproduction. A journalist wrote of the Exposition’s Village Suisse that “Tout est parfait, exact comme une mise en scène d’Antoine.” (“Everything is perfect and exact, like a set by [André] Antoine”.)

RENTRÉE À L’ÉTABLE (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 313.
photog: [Emile Lavanchy]. riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 42″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 16 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. /  Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

At the Geneva Exposition’s Village Suisse, following the preceding scene, we see the “return to the stable”, again with numerous extras!

DANSE ÉGYPTIENNE (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 311.
photog: [Emile Lavanchy]. riprese/filmed: 16.05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 33″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 3 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 13 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato.  /
Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

Some of the 80 employees of the Palais des Fées create an exotic mood at the Egyptian Café, with the help of the Lavanchy-Clarke family. What they all knew was that the building contained advertising for Sunlight Soap, prohibited by fairground rules on the outside.

Ragazzi/Children

LAVEUSES (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 60.
photog: [Alexandre Promio]. riprese/filmed: inizio/early 05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 22″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 2 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 8 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato.  /
Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

One of two films in which the small family circle of Lavanchy-Clarke, fans of Sunlight Soap, including two children, are busy doing the laundry; the brand is innocently highlighted by a strategically placed box. Lavanchy-Clarke himself briefly enters the frame.
A variant take exists, not listed in the Lumière Catalogue, in which Lavanchy-Clarke is absent, filmed like the following vue in Geneva, at his home at 16 avenue du Mail.

[RONDE FAMILIALE DANS LE JARDIN DE LA VILLA DE FRANÇOIS-HENRI LAVANCHY-CLARKE À GENÈVE] (CH 1897)
photog: [Imre Kiralfy]. riprese/filmed: 04.09.1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 48″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

The location is the same as Laveuses, and the vue is an example of a home movie, with people playing or fooling around, fully aware of the camera. When you have a Cinématographe Lumière, why only use the Kodak Panoram? The child’s pushcart bears the name Helvetia, the naturalized Swiss version of the Sunlight brand, whose factory was launched in Olten in October 1898.

[DANSE DANS UN JARDIN] (CH 1904) [frammento/fragment]
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 10.1904? 11.1904?
copia/copy: DCP, 14″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg., perf. Lumière, incomp., 5 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

Children’s performance in Ukrainian costume in the garden of the Villa du Méridien in Cannes, next to Lavanchy-Clarke’s Villa Belle Rive. In 1904, Russian officers wounded in the war with Japan were convalescing in Cannes. This and the following film form an ensemble with two other vues featuring these convalescents.

[UNE AUTRE DANSE DANS UN JARDIN] (CH 1904)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 10.1904? 11.1904?
copia/copy: DCP, 43″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. [frammento/fragment] + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

Two young girls in Ukrainian costume perform a dance near a palm tree in a garden. This vue belongs to the same series as the previous one. These 1904 films are Lavanchy-Clarke’s last known work.

[JEUX À LA CAMPAGNE] (CH 1897)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: [09.07.]1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 42″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

Near a chalet in a cow pasture in the Jura, at Frohburg (Canton of Solothurn), Jenny Lavanchy-Clarke and her children Christine, Henri, and Bertha watch three lively pairs of boys doing an imitation of the lutte à la culotte (traditional Swiss wrestling). There is even a referee, stick in hand, and a judge noting the score.

[PROMENADE AU MONT DE BAULMES] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 22?/23?.08.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 27″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 9 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

Playful ramblers carrying Sunlight placards in a cow pasture in the Jura (Canton of Vaud). The respectable gentleman is none other than William Whiteley (1831-1907), founder of London’s first department store. Is this a home movie or advertising for the launch of the Sunlight Helvetia soap factory (Olten, 12 October 1898)? Maybe both.

[CYCLISTES DANS LE JARDIN DE LA VILLA LAVANCHY-CLARKE] (CH, c.1902)
photog: ?. riprese/filmed: [c.1902].
copia/copy: DCP, 1’20” (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 32 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

The bicycle was still a novelty at the beginning of the 20th century. At the Villa Belle Rive in Cannes, the Lavanchy-Clarke family engage with it cyclically, with gaps in the film in order to convey a sense of the laps.
The unusual length is the result of two vues edited together: the first has two shots with one camera stop and the second has three shots with two camera stops. The two rolls are mounted to achieve a connection with the movement of one of the women cyclists.

L’esercito / The Army

DÉFILÉ DU 8ÈME BATAILLON (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 316.
photog: Constant Girel. riprese/filmed: 01.10.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 43″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 2 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato. /  Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

Product placement is here conceived as an ordinary urban event, with the advertising cart prominently included in the shot behind the public gathered for a military parade in Lausanne. While the wording is clearly visible, the ambiguous broadening of the letter G allows for a dual reading, either “Sunlicht Savon” or “Sunlight Savon”. Lavanchy-Clarke’s appearance will not go unnoticed.

SUISSE: EXERCICES DE TIR PAR L’ARTILLERIE (CH 1897)
Lumière Cat. no. 631.
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 09.07.1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 45″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

Cadet manoeuvres at the Aarau Children’s Festival (the Maienzug). This is one of the vues that most clearly reveals the interaction during shooting, in this case between gunner and cameraman. And why the nervous look on the soldier’s face? Timing!

[MISE EN PLACE D’UNE BATTERIE] (CH, 1897? 1898?)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 1897? 1898?
copia/copy: DCP, 35″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 13 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale a partire dal negativo nitrato originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

The departure of these horse-drawn light batteries probably took place in Frauenfeld (Thurgau). The first two vues in this section appear in the Lumière Catalogue; the subsequent ones were only for Swiss domestic release.

[EXERCICES DE TIR] (CH, 1897? 1898?) [frammento/fragment]
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 1897? 1898?
copia/copy: DCP, 14″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 5 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

The gunners in action are members of the Swiss Army, shown in battle dress. Boleslaw Matuszewski stated in 1898 that filming a nation’s army contributed to civic education. Lavanchy-Clarke did not hesitate to show this to his public.

[SAUT DE HAIES PAR DES MILITAIRES À L’HIPPODROME DE SCHÜTZENMATTE À BÂLE] (CH 1897)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 23.05.1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 45″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

Cinema as archival documentation was a notion promptly adopted from photography. Inaugurated in 1876, the racecourse set up on the Schützenmatte in Basel was only used for one more year after the shooting of this vue and the following one, which soon made these films function as both image and historical record.

[SAUT DE HAIES ET COURSE À L’HIPPODROME DE SCHÜTZENMATTE À BÂLE] (CH 1897)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 23.05.1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 45″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 17 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. /  Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

In 1895, the Swiss cavalry had an elite corps of 3,458 men and 3,136 reservists. Military doctrine still advocated the shock attack with a cavalry charge, a manoeuvre illustrated in numerous films of the period. Military horse shows were a popular collective event.

Celebrazioni / Celebrations

[CORTÈGE DU CARNAVAL DE BÂLE, III] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 02.03.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 58″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.
Questa ripresa  presenta tre interruzioni senza cambiamento dell’asse. / This vue presents three camera stops without a change of angle.

[CORTÈGE DU CARNAVAL DE BÂLE, V] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 02.03.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 1′ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. /  Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

[CORTÈGE DU CARNAVAL DE BÂLE, IV] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 02.03.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 1’53” (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 29 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. /  Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

This film is unusually long because the vue consists of two successive shots (15 and 14 metres) with a very slight difference in angle.

[CORTÈGE DU CARNAVAL DE BÂLE, I] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 02.03.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 1’03” (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

These four vues, which form a series with others, are the first films made in Basel of a highly cinematic event, as was already the case with many contemporary European carnivals. The Mittlere Brücke [Middle Bridge] where the procession and its lanterns pass is the bridge seen in Pont sur le Rhin, Lumière Cat. no. 308, the first film in the “Cities” section of this programme (see below).

[DÉFILÉ DANS LA VILLE DE MORAT] (CH, [1898])
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 22.06.[1898].
copia/copy: DCP, 1’15” (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.
Questa ripresa  presenta cinque interruzioni senza cambiamento dell’asse. /  This vue presents five camera stops without a change of angle.

This annual pageant commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Morat, the victory in 1476 of the Swiss Confederates over the Duke of Burgundy. The family of Emile Lavanchy watches the event from the left.

[CORTÈGE DU CENTENAIRE, PLACE DE LA RIPONNE] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 24.01.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 54″ (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 10 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. /  Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

The departure of the procession. This is one of two surviving vues of the patriotic celebration in Lausanne marking the centenary of the independence of the Canton of Vaud.

[PREMIER CORTÈGE POUR L’INAUGURATION DU MUSÉE NATIONAL SUISSE] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 25.06.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 48″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.
Questa ripresa  presenta un’interruzione senza cambiamento dell’asse. / This vue presents one camera stop without a change of angle.

Shooting the historic pageant celebrating the Confederation’s first museum, filmed for the Swiss public, Lavanchy-Clarke had a feeling for patriotic values. Two processions provided the material for these two surviving vues, from a presumed much larger series.

[DEUXIÈME CORTÈGE POUR L’INAUGURATION DU MUSÉE NATIONAL SUISSE] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 25.06.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 52″ (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. /  Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

[CORTÈGE D’ENFANTS À AARAU] (CH 1897)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 09.07.1897.
copia/copy: DCP, 55″ (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 11 m., 14 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

This children’s procession is part of the Maienzug, a festival solemnly marking the end of the school year in Aarau, with a touching focus on the youngest of all.

Turismo / Tourism

CHUTES DU RHIN VUES DE LOIN (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 318.
photog: Constant Girel. riprese/filmed: 29.09.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 42″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 3 pos. perf. Lumière, + 1 pos. perf. Edison, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato.  / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

The use of a long shot is precisely in line with the traditional imagery of the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen, which evolved starting in the 18th century, and the perspective of which was defined by the topography of the falls. Lavanchy-Clarke can just be seen waving from the boat.

CHUTES DU RHIN VUES DE PRÈS (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 317.
photog: Constant Girel. riprese/filmed: 29.09.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 48″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 2 pos. perf. Lumière, + 1 pos. perf. Edison, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. /  Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

The bubbling, surging currents of the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen are captured in close-up by “living pictures”, with the Cinématographe manifesting its characteristically superlative power with its recording of movement and astonishing tight framing. A careful study of the top of the frame suggests that Lavanchy-Clarke was present here too.

PROCESSION (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 315.
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 06.07.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 43″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos. perf. Lumière, incomp., 16 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate print.

The parade procession is formed by Bernese choirs gathered for a Cantonal song festival. Interlaken was one of the key sites for international tourism at the end of the 19th century, and the Höhematte, where the procession route is located, appeared in every guidebook.

[LA FOSSE AUX OURS DE BERNE] (CH, 1897? 1898?]
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 25.05.1897? 11.08.1898?.
copia/copy: DCP, 40″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. [al quale mancano, rispetto alla copia, 12 fotogrammi finali  / missing 12 frames at the end, compared with the print] + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

The bear is the emblem of Bern, and the pit that used to house several of the animals was the most common motif in representations of the city, as well as a central tourist attraction.

ZERMATT: PANORAMA DANS LES ALPES (CH, [1897])
Lumière Cat. no. 630.
photog: ?. riprese/filmed: [1897].
copia/copy: DCP, 44″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 interneg. perf. Lumière; + 4 pos. perf. Lumière; + 1 pos. perf. Edison; incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal controtipo nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate internegative.

The location seems to have been carefully chosen to produce the effect of the veiling and unveiling of space on this section of the recently constructed Visp–Zermatt rail line.

[PANORAMA PRIS D’UN TRAIN ASSURANT LA LIGNE GLION – ROCHERS-DE-NAYE] (CH, c.1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: c.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 58″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

Montreux was then one of the richest regions in Switzerland in terms of impressive modes of transport – electric trams, funicular railways, trains. And the “panorama”, by definition, was the most spectacular cinematic genre.

[MONTREUX: PANORAMA PRIS DU FUNICULAIRE TERRITET – GLION] (CH, c.1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: c.1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 46″ (da/from neg. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 18 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

Taking advantage of the funicular railway – a modern panoramic way of criss-crossing the Montreux landscape – the Cinématographe produces a vertigo of its own in this short ascent.

Città / Cities

PONT SUR LE RHIN (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 308.
photog: Constant Girel. riprese/filmed: 28.09.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 47″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg., + 1 interneg. (incomp., mancanti 2 m. all’inizio/missing 2 m. at the beginning), + 2 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dal negativo originale. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate negative.

This seemingly uncontrived veduta of the Mittlere Brücke [Middle Bridge] in Basel is in fact populated by planted extras, with Lavanchy-Clarke passing by in a horse-drawn cabriolet. But how could we ever suspect that, from the look of the boy who seems to be so spontaneously intrigued by the camera?

SCIEURS DE BOIS (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 93.
photog: Constant Girel. riprese/filmed: 01.10.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 43″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 3 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire da una copia nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from one of the original nitrate prints.

This genre scene of men sawing wood is further enlivened by Lavanchy-Clarke and a colleague walking towards us. The Swiss offices of Sunlight Soap were only a short distance away.

[MARCHÉ À BERNE] (CH, 1897? 1898?)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 1897? 1898?
copia/copy: DCP, 48″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp. [inizio mancante/missing the beginning], 15 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate print.

A city view, rich in movement, shot at the corner of the Schauplatzgasse in Bern. The film’s attributed title would imply a scene that was not included; the stalls of Bern’s Grand Bazar are visible instead.

[CIRCULATION SUR LA BÖRSENPLATZ À SAINT-GALL] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: [27.04.]1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 58″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 17 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.

Film as spectacle: that is how we would define this scene in St. Gallen today, with depth accentuated by the fountain partly framed in the foreground, and passers-by pausing to look towards us. Busy playing around the then-new fountain (inaugurated on 27 October 1896), the children pay no attention.

[ANIMATION SUR LA MARKTPLATZ À SAINT-GALL] (CH 1898)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: [27.04.]1898.
copia/copy: DCP, 1’25” (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, 20 m., 16 fps).
Restauro digitale effettuato a partire dal negativo originale. / Digital restoration done from the original nitrate negative.
Questa ripresa  presenta tre interruzioni senza cambiamento dell’asse. / This vue presents three camera stops without a change of angle.

This vue is centred on the very emblem of the modern city of Saint Gallen: an advertising kiosk with a prominent announcement for Suprême Pernot biscuits, accompanied by a small, discreetly added sign for Sunlight Soap, moving in the wind. For passers-by, the spectacle – offscreen – appears to be a camera being cranked by a cameraman. If they were not watching the lens, would we suspect that the scene was staged? 

[PONT DU MONT-BLANC, GENÈVE] (CH 1896)
photog: [François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke]. riprese/filmed: 01.1896? 02.1896?
copia/copy: DCP, 40″ (da/from pos. nitr. orig., perf. Lumière, incomp., 15 m., 18 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate print.

The diagonal composition of this Geneva city view enhances its dynamism. The advertisement crowning the horse-drawn omnibus is clearly legible: “Sunlight Savon” [Sunlight Soap]. And depending on the various gazes, interaction with the cameraman ranges from curiosity to, perhaps, recognition.

PLACE BEL AIR (CH 1896)
Lumière Cat. no. 314.
photog: [Alexandre Promio]. riprese/filmed: [07?/ 09?/ 10?]. 05.1896.
copia/copy: DCP, 41″ (da/from orig. nitr. neg. + 1 pos., perf. Lumière, incomp., 14 m., 16 fps).
Restauro fotochimico effettuato negli anni ’90 a partire dalla copia nitrato. / Chemical restoration done in the 1990s, from the original nitrate print.

The perfect urban veduta: a scene full of multiple mini-events, rounded off by Lavanchy-Clarke in his cabriolet approaching from the distance and greeting us.