England: 1901 footage of kids intrigued on seeing motion camera for first time goes viral

Technology often transcends into realms of magic. When tasks and objects that seemed impossible for generations become reality, even an old man can be lost in childlike wonder. While in the 21st century, technology has become advanced enough to make everything believable. From nanobots for treatments to lab-grown meat, science is bringing to life human imagination in a way that itself, a few decades ago, would have been unimaginable.

It is no surprise, thus, to see a 1901 clip showing children lost in wonder and curiosity on seeing a video camera for the first time. The clip posted on social media shows a group of children in Victorian England being intrigued by a video camera and is believed to be captured in 1901 when people in England faced the camera for the first time. 

The colourised clip shows several children gathering around the camera that was filming a busy street in North West England. While some labourers continue about their business, several children can be seen stopping and staring at the camera. After surfacing for the first time on YouTube, the clip has now been shared on Reddit. 

Take a look:

More about the video

The 1890s saw the emergence of the world's first motion picture camera, the Kinetograph. It wasn't before 1909 that the first hand-held film camera called the Aeroscope was out. The now-viral video is a part of a wider series of films about labourers in Victorian England which was taken by Mitchell and Kenyon in North England.

Meanwhile, this video was filmed sometime between 1900 and 1901 documenting the lives of workers of all ages in those days. It was understood from their weary appearance that conditions and facilities weren't great at that time. However, the relatively high-resolution footage showed the faces and clothes covered in dirt as people head out of their workplace. It was necessary to maintain the source quality to make an upscale video. 

As the footage resurfaced on social media, viewers were seen discussing the movement of the people in the video. Some of them discussed how some of these kids might have died in World War II. One user commented, "I wonder how many of those kids were in WWI".

A second user quipped, "It's England in the 1900s. I think it's safe to say everyone worked around coal lol (sic)".

(Image: Reddit.com)