Julius Neubronner zaubert (1904)

Julius Neubronner (1852-1932), a chemist and inventor from Kronberg was one of the first people to film in the Rhine-Main region. In 1903 he acquired his first film camera, an Ernemann "Kino" for 17.5mm film with center perforation. With his camera Neubronner recorded historical events as well as the everyday life of his family. Furthermore, he also shot short sketches performed by himself and his family on a stage set-up in the garden of their home. Occasionally, he also experimented with stop motion effects in these sketches. "Julius Neubronner Performs Magic" shows the amateur filmmaker dressed in a suit and performing a number of magic tricks. He pulls a cardboard tube over a boy: when the tube is raised the boy has disappeared and a girl appears in his stead. Water disappears from a glass bowl and doves take flight.