Co-makers: Creator unknown
Production: Edison Manufacturing Co.
Original format: 35mm silent film 1.33:1
Featuring: unknown dancer
Courtesy: Institut Valencia de Cinematografia le Filmoteca


An exquisitely sharp image and fancy hand tinting-toning make this little "butterfly dance" a unique viewing experience. The new title card attributes the film to the Edison Manufacturing Company but little else is known or has yet to be verified of its origins. -Bruce Posner

Edison Manufacturing Co., formed to market products invented by Thomas Edison, handled his motion picture and closely related phonograph business. In 1896, as the Kinetoscope business faltered, Edison appointed William Gilmore to manage the company. Gilmore took distribution out of the hands of independents like Raff & Gammon and Maguire & Baucus. Then Edison began a series of lawsuits to repress competitors. Patent suits dominated the American film market prior to W.W.I and kept Edison the predominant American film company during much of this period. Until recently aesthetic advancements made by Edison's filmmakers have been overshadowed by accounts of the legal wrangling. -Paul Spehr/Bruce Posner