The very first kiss on film: Thomas Edison's 1896 silent film "The Kiss" featuring May Irwin and John C. Ric.

"The film caused a scandalized uproar and occasioned disapproving newspaper editorials and calls for police action in many places where it was shown."
One contemporary critic wrote: "... the spectacle of the prolonged pasturing on each other's lips was beastly enough in life-size on the stage but magnified to gargantuan proportions and repeated three times over it is absolutely disgusting."
The Edison catalogue advertised the film this way: “They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss and kiss and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.”
PS: can't wait for the opportunity to use "gargantuan proportions".

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Marina Amaral

Marina Amaral Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @marinamaral2

4 Feb
Colorized by me: Photograph from the main eastern theater of the war, Battle of Antietam, Md. Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand; 1862. ImageImage
Part of the Maryland Campaign, the Battle of Antietam was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil.

It was the bloodiest day in American history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.
Original via LOC. Image
Read 8 tweets
3 Feb
Shanidar 1, an older Neandertal from about 50,000 years ago, suffered multiple injuries and other degenerations, became deaf, and must have relied on the help of others to avoid prey and survive well into his 40s, indicates a research. Image
He sustained a serious blow to the side of the face, fractures and the eventual amputation of the right arm at the elbow, and injuries to the right leg, as well as a systematic degenerative condition. Image
Read 4 tweets
3 Feb
I’m seriously terrified of this ghost town in Turkey: ImageImage
This place makes me feel so uncomfortable. oh my God Image
Read 5 tweets
2 Feb
Colorized by me: Wounded Canadian soldiers en route for Blighty, ca. 1918.

Original via Archives of Ontario. Image
Original via Archives of Ontario. Image
Read 5 tweets
1 Feb
Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins was one of the most famous American entertainers of the 19th century. Blind from birth and born into slavery, Wiggins became well known for his piano virtuosity. Though undiagnosed at the time, it is likely that he was autistic as well.
Thomas Greene Wiggins was born near Columbus on May 25, 1849, to Charity and Domingo Wiggins, slaves who were owned by Wiley Jones. After discovering that the infant was blind, Jones refused to feed or clothe him.
Wiggins's mother interceded to save his life, and several months later Wiggins, his two older siblings, and his parents were sold at auction to General James Bethune, a Columbus lawyer.
Read 14 tweets
1 Feb
Celia was a 19-year-old enslaved woman who lived in Missouri. On June 23, 1855, after repeatedly requesting Newsom, her master, to stop sexually coercing her - with no success, she struck him twice with a large stick.

She then burned his body in her fireplace.
Celia was ultimately executed by hanging following a denied appeal in December 1855.
For many enslaved African Americans, one of the cruelest
hardships they endured was sexual abuse: nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/ensla…
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!