Croydon Camera Club
Croydon Camera Club

Croydon Camera Club History: 1890-2000

Movies: The early years 1890-1900
Friese Greene "Moving Pictures"

As well as promoting prints and slides the Club was interested in the new "Kinematography" and towards the end of 1896 a lecture was given by W. E. Friese Greene "Moving Pictures of his production were thrown on the screen and at the end of the evening several X-Rays of hands were made". To the credit of the Club and in appreciation of the man and his work at the next meeting Mr Friese Green was made an Honorary Life Member on a proposition by the President and seconded by Alderman Edridge. Now hooked on cine, 10 films were projected at the Club on 13th January 1897, one of which depicted the demolition of the Old Railway Station at Central Croydon.

Club invents "1-hour processing" service

At a lantern lecture later in the year. Miss Chambers of the Ladies' Banjo team was thanked for the "great satisfaction" to the evening and the team were then photographed by flashlight; the plate developed in the Dark Room by Mr Jenkins, a lantern slide made, fixed and dried and projected at the end of the show to the delight of the ladies! (And we think the D & P film one hour service today is an innovation!) All this when the horse drawn tramway outside the Club room door was still awaiting conversion to electric traction.

One evening when a Dr Hobson was to give a lecture on "The Whitgift Hospital" before a large gathering of members and friends "the gas ran out" and his lecture had to be postponed! For Croydon Camera Club to run out of gas was a remarkable achievement! For us today who take electricity as a matter of course, the difficulties of operating lanterns, enlargers and room illumination by gas would seem prodigious. It is therefore all the more remarkable to see the wonderful photographs created under such conditions.