Rare Footage of New York City’s 1925 Solar Eclipse Discovered [VIDEO]

For the past year, there have been whispers of the upcoming eclipse that have crescendoed to a roar. It's all anyone seems to be talking about. Where to travel to see the eclipse, warnings about eclipse glasses, how pets will react to the eclipse, and even what color you should wear whilst viewing the eclipse.

You can't blame people for being excited. It's rare for New York to be in the path of totality for a solar eclipse. One of those times was in 1925, nearly 100 years ago. You have to wonder at that time how much people really knew or cared about the eclipse. Astronomy has come such a long way since then.

Footage from New York's 1925 Solar Eclipse Uncovered

Bully Hill Vineyards in Western New York shared last week that they own 2 of the 10 known photographs taken during the 1925 solar eclipse in New York. With only 10 known photographs, it seems like we didn't have a lot to remember from New York's last eclipse.

That is until video footage of the eclipse was uncovered.

British Pathé is an archive that has newsreel footage from across the globe dating back to the 1890s. They happened to have a nearly 7-minute long video covering New York's 1925 solar eclipse and the footage is absolutely fascinating.

Let's break down what we're looking at (since there's no sound!):

1925 Solar Eclipse's Path of Totality Over New York

Scientists and astronomers at the time were able to predict the eclipse's path of totality much like we've seen today.

1925's path of totality was predicted to hit Western New York, similarly to this year. The biggest difference is that in 1925, the southern area of New York State including parts of Long Island and New York City were also in that projected path.

For 2024, that path of totality is hitting much more North:

1925's Version of Eclipse Glasses

Looking directly at a solar eclipse with no eye protection can cause irreversible damage to your eyes, and they knew this in 1925. People got creative with ways to look at the eclipse.

In this photo, you can see a man holding a large card over his face.

According to a New York Times account of the eclipse, people had "solar eclipse viewers" which are described as, "a card with a strip of exposed photographic film." The account also mentions children "holding small window panes over a smoke stack, and selling them to passers-by for a dime."

SEE ALSO: What to Do With Your Eclipse Glasses Once It's Over

The New York State DEC notes that neither of these inventions are now considered sufficient protection against damage from the eclipse! If you don't have your eclipse glasses, don't look up.

Ways to Capture the Eclipse in 1925

The British Pathé footage does note that for months leading up to the solar eclipse, British Pathé cameramen worked alongside Dr. John A. Miller and the Swarthmore College Expedition to determine what kind of equipment would be needed to clearly capture this historic astronomical wonder.

They landed on a variety of different pieces including 55-foot cameras and 65-foot apparatuses.

Get our free mobile app

1925's Solar Eclipse Corona Captured on Film in New York

All of that hard work truly paid off. Not only does the British Pathé footage capture what the eclipse looked like on the ground - including animal reactions and total darkness - but, they managed to capture a stunning view of the corona created from the Moon passing between the Sun and Earth.

Below you can see the rest of this stunning footage from 1925: