Salon Indien du Grand Café
| Company type | Venue |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Cinema |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
Area served | Paris, France |
Le Salon Indien du Grand Café was an underground hall located within the Grand Café on Boulevard des Capucines, close to Place de l'Opéra in central Paris. This venue is renowned for hosting the first paid public film screening conducted by the Lumière brothers on December 28, 1895. The session showcased ten brief films, presented as follows:
- La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière à Lyon ("Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory"), duration 46 seconds
- La Voltige ("Horse Trick Riders"), duration 46 seconds
- La Pêche aux poissons rouges ("Fishing for Goldfish"), duration 42 seconds
- Le Débarquement du Congrès de Photographie à Lyon ("Disembarkment of the Photography Congress in Lyon"), duration 48 seconds
- Les Forgerons ("Blacksmiths"), duration 49 seconds
- Le Jardinier (l'Arroseur Arrosé) ("The Gardener" or "The Sprinkler Sprinkled"), duration 49 seconds
- Repas de bébé ("Baby's Breakfast"), duration 41 seconds
- Le Saut à la couverture ("Jumping Onto the Blanket"), duration 41 seconds
- La Places des Cordeliers à Lyon ("Cordeliers Square in Lyon"), duration 44 seconds
- La Mer (Baignade en mer) ("The Sea [bathing]"), duration 38 seconds
These films were recorded and projected using a hand-cranked mechanism.
Before this historic event, the Lumière brothers had exhibited films at the Société d'encouragement pour l'industrie nationale on March 22, 1895, and at the Congrès de photographes held in Lyon on June 11, 1895.
Earlier instances of commercial public film presentations include those by Woodville Latham and his sons using the Eidoloscope on May 20, 1895; Max and Emil Skladanowsky with their Bioscop device in Berlin (November 1895) and Hamburg (December 1895); as well as Émile Reynaud’s hand-painted Pantomimes Lumineuses, which were displayed at Musée Grévin between 1892 and 1900. Additionally, Ottomar Anschütz showcased chronophotographic moving images using his Electrotachyscope from 1887 onward.
Currently, the site at No. 14 Boulevard des Capucines is occupied by the Hotel Scribe, which includes 'Café Lumière' as a tribute to this cinematic milestone. Meanwhile, the Grand Cafe Capucines at No. 4 remains active as a successor establishment further along the same boulevard.