Video Friday: The Year was 1912

This silent video footage from 1912 has been set to a recently-recorded musical score based on popular songs of that year. Panels displaying the lyrics of the music being played are interspersed with the video clips, and it's fun to note just how racy some of those lyrics are:

Turn off your light, Mister Moon Man,
Go and hide your light behind a cloud,
Can't you see that couples want to spoon, man,
Two is company and three's a crowd....

It's not entirely clear whether all of the clips are from the same location, but the double decker buses and brief glimpses of signage suggest that at least some of the clips were shot in England. At 3:33 white flags with a cross can be seen fluttering from windows in the background of the scene; while these might be Finland's national flag (white with a blue cross), they might also be displaying a red St. George's Cross on a white field, which although used by several nations, and even a number of municipalities, seems suggestive of England, once more, possibly in connection with a celebration of Saint George's Day.

There's a wonderful moment at 4:02 in which we see a man and woman selling flowers on a crowded street. The man sits on a curb, a bucket of flowers between his feet, and the woman appears to be braiding some of flowers.

While much of the footage is street scenes, there are also some delightful clips of women showing off their fashionable finery. Some of them seem to be on stage, either in performances or in fashion shows, but others are in more casual settings and some, especially the younger women, seem to be simply showing off for their friends. There are even a few women who are clearly acting as hat models, one of whom looks distinctly nervous, which utterly charmed us.