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1910, art, artist, arts, battle, canvas, chalk, chalker, chalking, chalks, edwardian, england, film, history, house, living, london, lyceum, new, news, newspaper, pavement, pavement art, paving, philip, picture, pictures, publication, screever, screeving, social, stone, street, uk, urban, urbancanvas, wanganui, zealand
Screevers on Film
In the back of beyond, on the other side of the world, appeared an advert in a local newspaper: THE NEW LIVING LONDON; The Pictorial Sensation of the Year. For three nights only, the greatest and most elaborate pictorial history of the world’s metropolis ever presented; 42 LIVING PICTURES (movies to you and me!)
“Bring your friends and be merry”
This was of course an early cinematography presentation of London, England; shown at The Lyceum Picture Theatre, in the remote and almost unknown town of Wanganui, New Zealand. The showing was on the 26th September 1910; the theatre advert appeared in the Wanganui Chronicle on the 24th Sept.
Original advert for LIVING LONDON: published 24th Sept. 1910
The interest from a pavement art point-of-view is that one of these 42 ‘living pictures’ featured a London pavement artist, and to my knowledge is one of the earliest ‘recorded’ moving image films of a pavement artist at work. The film itself could date from around the turn of the century, about the 1890’s.
I have no idea if this film still exists or has been destroyed. But one thing is certain…..If I do manage to track it down…..you will see it here first: WATCH THIS SPACE. 
Written and researched by Philip Battle.
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