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Arnold Genthe - Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. /

Arnold Genthe - Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. /

description

Summary

This film shows the arrest and conveyance of a Chinese man in Chinatown, watched by a crowd of onlookers. The precise date of this film and the arrest charge are uncertain. It is possible that the arrest was connected with the smuggling of illegal immigrants from China. By mutual agreement between China and the United States, a small quota of merchants and students was allowed to immigrate yearly, but few legal immigrants actually were of these professions, and illegal immigration continued. One of the San Francisco residences for new arrivals was located at 830/832 Washington Street, the general location from which the arrest party ascends at the start of the film. A second possible cause for the arrest is tong activity. Chinatown at this time was plagued with warfare between various tongs (gang associations of rootless and under-enfranchised immigrants and non-family members). The murder of tong kingpin Fong Ching - called "Little Pete" - in January 1897 set off a flurry of tong violence that continued for months. The practice of tying the queue up on the head, a fashion supposedly confined to tong "hit men" called "highbinders" was in fact common among laborers. The arrested man has followed this practice and his rough canvas jacket suggests he is a peddler or shophand by (legitimate) profession. A third possible arrest charge may involve illegal gambling. Stout's Alley was lined with gambling houses, many owned by the late Fong Ching. Pawnbroker shops were nearby. The circular sign seen at left in the first part of the film is a pawnbroker's sign. All of the local streets had Chinese names. Washington Street was Wa Sheng Shong Hong ("Waystation to Prosperity Street"), Stout's Alley was Lou Shong Hong ("Old Spanish (Mexican Gambler) Alley") and Waverly Place was Ten How Mui Gai ("Ten How Temple Street"). These names are still in use.
The following is a scene-by-scene description of the film: [Frame: 0100] The camera was placed at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Stout's Alley (now Ross Alley), midway between Stockton Street and Grant Avenue. The first scene shows the arrested man being led by a police officer west up the north side of Washington Street to Stout's Alley. A group of pedestrians, mostly white, watch the man's unwilling arrest [0140]. A detective is seen pointing the cameraman toward the police cart waiting in Washington Street [0485]. The next scene shows the departure of the police cart with the arrested man, policemen, and triumphant detective, who waves to the camera [0650]. The cart turns east and begins down Washington Street as a mostly Chinese crowd watches from the south side of Washington Street and the intersecting Waverly Place [0755].
60596 U.S. Copyright Office
Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 25Oct1897; 60596.
Duration: 0:24 at 30 fps.
Paper print shelf number (LC 0992) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
Photographed in San Francisco, California.
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 12; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures, 1890-1900, p. 335.
Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.

San Francisco Chinatown history is famous for the community’s struggle against discrimination starting in the 1800’s: the struggle that shaped America’s understanding of human rights and the Constitution. The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. 旧金山唐人街的历史以1800年代以来社区反对歧视的斗争而闻名:形成美国对人权和宪法理解的斗争。唐人街以加利福尼亚州旧金山的格兰特大街和斯托克顿街为中心,是北美最古老的唐人街,也是亚洲以外最大的华人社区。

Arnold Genthe was born in Berlin. His father was a professor of Latin and Greek. Genthe followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a classically trained scholar; he received a doctorate in philology in 1894 from the University of Jena. After emigrating to San Francisco in 1895 to work as a tutor for the son of Baron and Baroness J. Henrich von Schroeder, he taught himself photography. He was intrigued by the Chinatown part of the city and photographed, often secretly, its inhabitants. About 200 of his Chinatown pictures survive, and these comprise the only known photographic depictions of the area before the 1906 earthquake. The San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed Genthe's studio, but he rebuilt. He was a friend of George Sterling, Jack London, Harry Leon Wilson, Ambrose Bierce, and Mary Austin. He was appointed in 1907 to the Board of Directors of the Art Gallery in Monterey’s luxury Hotel Del Monte, where he ensured that the work of important regional art photographers, such as Laura Adams Armer and Anne Brigman, was displayed with his own prints. In 1911 he moved to New York City, where he remained until his death of a heart attack in 1942. He worked primarily in portraiture, and Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and John D. Rockefeller all sat for him. His photos of Greta Garbo were credited with boosting her career. He also photographed dancers, including Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, Audrey Munson, and Ruth St. Denis, and his photos were featured in the 1916 book, The Book of the Dance.

date_range

Date

01/01/1897
person

Contributors

Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
place

Location

Chinatown, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, United States37.79414, -122.40779
Google Map of 37.79413779999999, -122.40779140000001
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Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

Public Domain

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