Marius Sestier in India

When the Lumières¹ saw how immensely popular their cinématographe shows were after the first public (and paying) exhibitions in Paris from 28 December 1895 on, they fully realised the commercial potential and determined to spread the image. Over the following months, they trained several operators in the use of their cinématographe and their business procedures. One such operator was Marius Sestier, who had been a pharmicist: he was commissioned by the Lumières to exhibit the cinématographe in India and Australia.

Sestier and his wife arrived in Bombay [Mumbai], India on 30 June 1896 on board the steamer Yarra of the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes, having left Marseille, France on 11 June.² They had with them a Lumière cinématographe and a collection of films to be shown therewith. Within a week, Sestier had secured a venue to demonstrate the new technological invention. Billed as "The Marvel of the Century!" and "The Wonder of the World!!",³ the cinématographe was shown for the first time in India on Tuesday, 7 July 1896 at Watson's Hotel, Bombay. There were four showings, at 6, 7, 9, and 10 p.m., of six films, and the price of admission was 1 rupee.

On 9 July, the Bombay Gazette published a review of the first screening.⁴ There was criticism of the room at Watson's Hotel where the films were shown, it being too small to enable the images to be shown life-size. Nonetheless, the response to the films was enthusiastic. Interestingly, Sestier is not mentioned: the article states: "Messrs. Lumiere Brothers, who are on their way to Australia, are the exhibitors of this truly marvellous discovery, ...". In fact, it was some time before the Bombay Gazette published the true name of the exhibitor of the cinématographe. It is possible that Sestier's command of English was not good enough to have enabled him to communicate his name to the journalists.

Further showings of the same 6 films were advertised for 9 July, again at Watson's Hotel, at the times 7, 9, and 10 p.m..⁵

On the next night, the programme was changed, with six different films being shown.⁶ The venue was again Watson's Hotel, with the same session times as on 9 July. This programme was repeated on 11 July.⁷

But Sestier had managed to secure a better venue, the Novelty Theatre, and immediately below the Bombay Gazette advertisement for the show on 11 July is a notice for three shows there, on 14, 16, and 17 July.⁷ There were to be two shows each night, at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m., with 12 films at each show. There is a short article⁸ about the new venue that says that the cinématographe will be shown better there. Again, Sestier is not mentioned; "Messrs. Lumiere Brothers" made the decision to move.

On Monday, 13 July there were shows at Watson's Hotel.^9,10 Also on this day the Bombay Gazette published a technical note¹¹ explaining (to some degree) how the cinématographe functioned. A picture would be worth several hundred words here!

But the first exhibitions planned for the Novelty Theatre did not take place: there was no electric light available.¹² So the cinématographe show returned to Watson's Hotel. Sestier was only able to get to the Novelty Theatre for a successful show on 21 July.^13,14 During that week shows took place at both Watson's Hotel and the Novelty Theatre.

The cinématographe proved to be so popular that Sestier sought and obtained a further lease of the Novelty Theatre from 27 July through to 15 August.¹⁵

At the end of July, "Mr. Seister, who is showing the cinematographe each evening", allowed the children of the Scottish Orphanage free admission to the shows.¹⁶ Someone on the paper's staff almost had the name correct. And on 30 and 31 July and 1 and 2 August "Professor Lumiere" allowed the boys of the J.N. Petit Parsi Orphanage free admission to the exhibitions.¹⁷ Why did the Bombay Gazette, for all their enthusiasm for Sestier's exhibitions, not yet know his name?

The Sestiers were in India at monsoon time, and the weather for most of their first month there had been wet.¹⁸ If Marius Sestier had wanted to make a film in India (see below), he may well not have been able to because of the rain. Nonetheless, after a month of showing films, he was still doing good business.¹⁹

Following suggestions,²⁰ at the later (9:00 p.m.) sessions on 11, 13, and 14 August, there were special exhibitions at which there was "suitable music", under the direction of Mr. F. Seymour Dove.²¹ The Bombay Gazette considered the first of these shows to be "the best M. Sestier has yet given in Bombay".²² At last Marius Sestier was acknowledged by his real name!

The last showing of the cinématographe in Bombay was on the night of Saturday, 15 August 1896 at the Novelty Theatre, at 6:30 p.m.²³ Again, F. Seymour Dove provided musical selections with the films.

On 26 August, Marius Sestier and wife left Bombay aboard the steamer Calédonien.²⁴ They were the only passengers listed for Sydney, Australia, which they would reach by changing ship at Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], leaving there aboard the steamer Polynésien on 31 August.²⁵ They arrived at Sydney on 16 September 1896 (having called at Albany, Western Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, and Melbourne, Victoria). During the trip from Colombo, Sestier gave exhibitions of the cinématographe as evening entertainment on the ship.²⁵

In the week and a half between the last public exhibition of the cinématographe and the departure of the Sestiers from Bombay, it is not known what they did in India. They probably had some time to themselves and went sight-seeing.

The following table shows when and where the cinématographe was (publicly) exhibited in Bombay in July and August 1896. All times are p.m.. Times marked with an asterisk indicate sessions at which music was included in the programme. Note that this was compiled from advertisements and reports and may not accurately reflect what actually took place.

July and August 1896

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	Watson's Hotel		Watson's Hotel	Watson's Hotel	Watson's Hotel
	6:00, 7:00, 9:00, 10:00		7:00, 9:00, 10:00	7:00, 9:00, 10:00	7:00, 9:00, 10:00
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Watson's Hotel	Novelty Theatre		Watson's Hotel	Watson's Hotel	Watson's Hotel
7:00, 9:00, 10:00	6:30, 9:30		7:00, 9:15, 10:00	7:00, 9:15, 10:00	7:00
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Watson's Hotel	Novelty Theatre	Watson's Hotel	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Watson's Hotel
7:00, 9:15, 10:00	6:30, 9:30	7:00, 9:15, 10:00	6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:30	7:00
27	28	29	30	31	1	2
Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre
6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre
6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:30	6:30
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre	Novelty Theatre
6:30, 9:30	6:30, 9:00*	6:30	6:30, 9:00*	6:30, 9:00*	6:30*

Films shown in India

The numbers in parentheses below are the numbers of the films in the Lumière catalogue.²⁶ Some of the identifications are tentative.

In his first two exhibitions at Watson's Hotel, on 7 and 9 July, Sestier showed the following films:^3,5

Entry of Cinematographe	L'entrée du cinématographe (250 or 275)
Arrival of a Train	L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat (653)
The Sea Bath	Baignade en mer (11) or Bains en mer (656)
A Demolition	La démolition d'un mur (40)
Leaving the Factory	La sortie des usines Lumière aka La sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon (91)
Ladies and Soldiers on Wheels	Cyclistes et cavaliers arrivant au cottage (247)

At the next two shows, on 10 and 11 July, the following were shown:^6,7

Baby's Dinner	Le déjeuner de bébé aka Le repas de bébé (88)
Rejoicing in the Market place, Paris	? (167)
The Street Dance of London	Danseuses des rues (249) or Nègres dansant dans la rue (252)
The Diver	?
Turning the Soup-plate by Trewey	Assiettes tournantes (1)
A Match at Cards	La partie d'écarté (73) or A Match at Trick Track aka Partie de tric-trac (74)

The first shows that were to be held at the Novelty Theatre were to have 12 films, which were possibly all those listed above.

An "entire change of programme" was advertised for 16 July.²⁷ Other films mentioned in Bombay Gazette articles on the cinématographe are:

Old Harbour at Marseilles	Vieux port (137)
Burning the Rubbish	Mauvaises herbes (64) aka Les brûleurs d'herbes
Watering the Garden	L'arroseur arrosé (99) aka Le jardinier
A Foggy Day in London	?
The Cinematographe in London	Entrée du cinématographe (250)
The Serpent	? = The Serpentine [Hyde Park (251)] ? or Danse serpentine (765) or ? Trewey's serpentine ribbon
London Girl Dancers	Danseuses des rues (249)
The Photographer	Photographe (118)
Champs Elysees	Champs-Elysées (151 or 152)
Paris Cyclists and Equestrians	? = Cyclists and Equestrians in Hyde Park
Hyde Park	Hyde Park (251) or Entrée de Hyde Park (425)
Sea and Rocks	? Gros temps de mer (52)
The Cologne Express	?
Parade of the Guard	Garde montante au palais Buckingham (257) ? (520)
Practical Joke	?
Transformation Hats	Chapeaux à transformations (105)
The Vaulting Lesson	La Voltige (194) aka La séance de voltige
The Robber Clown	? Le gendarme et le voleur (467) or Le faux cul-de-jatte (665)
The Landing Stage	? (620)

Did Sestier make any films in India?

Today, no film that could have been made by Sestier in India is known to exist. Jack Cato, in his The Story of the Camera in Australia,²⁸ offered a version of events which has been much repeated, in particular by Eric Reade in Australian Silent Films: A Pictorial History of Silent Films from 1896 to 1929.²⁹ Unfortunately, Cato supplied no evidence whatsoever for the story he related. Also, Albert James Perier made a critique³⁰ of Cato's book that provides several corrections to Cato's version of Sestier's history.

Cato made the ludicrous statement: "Sestier knew little about processing his film ...". For a start, Sestier was a professional chemist / pharmacist and so would have had little trouble working with the necessary chemicals to develop film. More to the point, he had been trained by the Lumières in how to use the cinématographe: considering the novelty of the instrument, it would have been necessary for an operator to understand well how to work it - especially so if the operator were to make films. Perier corrects Cato on this matter.

More reasonably, Cato points out that the heat and humidity in Bombay - the Sestiers were there at monsoon time - were pernicious to the film (stock) that Sestier had with him. Sestier was supposed to have been "very disappointed with the reports on his work from Paris". (The Lumière brothers were, in fact, based at Lyon.) This may well have been so, but no evidence is given. Nonetheless, it is not unreasonable to assume that if Sestier did try to make films there, the climatic conditions caused his work to be unsuccessful.

There is no mention in The Bombay Gazette newspaper of any attempt to make a film in or around Bombay. (One would assume that as this were something that had never been done before, it would merit reporting.) There is also no mention of a film of India in any newspaper report or advertisement of Sestier's exhibitions in Australia.

A possible scenario is as follows. After Sestier finished his cinématographe exhibitions in mid-August 1896, he made some films, possibly away from Bombay. He sent them, unprocessed, to France, where they were developed and printed, and, unfortunately for him, found to be unsatisfactory. He only received word of this after he had reached Sydney: he may have been [drowning his sorrows] in a Sydney hotel when he met H. Walter Barnett. This would give some truth to Cato's statement about Sestier's disappointment.

References and notes

BG = The Bombay Gazette newspaper.

[1] "Lumières" will be used to refer to any one or more of the brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumière, their father, Antoine Lumière, any of their employees or business associates, or their companies.

[2] BG, 1 July 1896, p.3f.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.
THE Messageries Maritimes Co's s s Yarra, 2084 tons, Captain LeCoispellier, arrived in harbour yesterday from Marseilles (11th June), with a general cargo and the following passangers:- [sic] ..., Mr and Mrs Cestier, [sic] ....

[3] BG, 7 July 1896, p.2a, New Advertisements.

THE MARVEL OF THE CENTURY! THE WONDER OF THE WORLD!! LIVING PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES IN LIFE-SIZED REPRODUCTIONS BY MESSRS. LUMIERE BROTHERS CINEMATOGRAPHE. A few Exhibitions will be given AT WATSON'S HOTEL, TO-NIGHT'S (7TH INST.,) PROGRAMME Will be as under:- 1 Entry of Cinematographe.    Arrival of a Train. 3 The Sea Bath. 4 A Demolition. 5 Leaving the Factory. 6 Ladies and Soldiers on Wheels. The Entertainments will take place at 6, 7, 9 and 10 P.M. ADMISSION ONE RUPEE.

The advertisement of the same date in The Times of India is almost exactly the same.

[4] BG, 9 July 1896, p.5b.

EXHIBITION OF THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
OWING to the good offices of a well-known Bombay resident, the public in this city are now having an opportunity given them to see the very latest photographic discovery utilised by the cinematographe. Messrs. Lumiere Brothers, who are on their way to Australia, are the exhibitors of this truly marvellous discovery, which enables a reproduction of human action to the life to be reproduced on canvas. The exhibition is held at Watson's Hotel, but owing to the smallness of the room, the operator is unable to have the instrument sufficiently removed from the canvas to make the figures life-size, and this has the further disadvantage that it makes the actors in each of the scenes move about rather too quickly. The views include the arrival of a crowded train at a railway station with all the animation and bustle that such an event presents; and the demolition of a wall - a work so realistic that the dust is seen to ascend in volumes when the wall finally totters and falls. "The Sea Bath" is another very good scene, the dashing of the waves upon the beach and the antics of the boy bathers both being very realistic. But this is beaten by "Leaving the Factory," which brings a whole crowd of moving humanity on the canvas, and is without doubt the most realistic scene of all. "Ladies and Soldiers on Wheels" is a very vivid representation of the cycling craze, as it can be seen any day in Hyde Park. No one who takes an interest in the march of science should allow to pass by the opportunity that now presents itself to see the cinematographe, an invention which is attracting a great deal of attention at Home.

[5] BG, 9 July 1896, p.2a, New Advertisements.

[6] BG, 10 July 1896, p.4a.

[7] BG, 11 July 1896, p.4b.

[8] BG, 11 July 1896, p.5b.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
THE evening exhibitions of "living" photographic pictures by means of the cinematographe at Watson's Hotel continue to be so well patronised that Messrs. Lumiere Brothers have decided, in response to numerous requests, to engage the Novelty Theatre for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next. Each evening there will be two exhibitions, the first at 6-30, and the last at 9-30, and twelve views will be shown each time. The decision is a wise one, for the cinematographe cannot be worked to advantage in a small room. The pictures have been well worth seeing, but the science effect will be greatly enhanced when the exhibition is given in the Novelty Theatre, and the opportunity of seeing one of the latest scientific marvels of the age should not be lost.

[9] BG, 13 July 1896, p.3a, Bombay; To-day.

[10] BG, 13 July 1896, p.4b.

[11] BG, 13 July 1896, p.6b, Scientific Actuality; The "Cinematographe" Explained.

[12] BG, 16 July 1896, p.4f.

THE cinematographe, having had so bad a time of it at the Novelty Theatre, owing to the electric light plant being out of order, has returned to its old love. Its operators will show what it is capable of at Watson's Hotel, each evening, at 7, 9-15, and 10 p.m., and an entirely new programme of photographic pictures is to be given. Arrangements are being made to ensure an adequate supply of the electric light, so there is no fear of a repetition of Tuesday evening's failure.

[13] BG, 17 July 1896, p.4a.

[14] BG, 24 July 1896, p.6a.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
THE difficulties which beset the production of living pictures by the Cinematographe when it was first placed on the stage of the Novelty Theatre, have now been obviated, and the exhibitions that have taken place in the theatre this week have been quite successful. Amongst the more recent of the photographic pictures presented may be mentioned a view of the old harbour at Marseilles, which no doubt people who are leaving by the Caledonia to-day are hoping to see in reality in less than a fortnight; "a Match at Trick Track,"; "Burning the Rubbish," a process which is participated in by a very attractive young lady; and "Watering the Garden." In the latter scene a boy plays the gardener the trick of treading on the hose, and when the man looks at the plug, removes his foot, and the water is squirted on the gardener's face. For this prank the youth is chased round the garden, and caught and punished. The operatives leaving the factory at Berlin walk out in a way that it would not be seen at Manchester or Bolton, where it is not the custom for the men to leave the female operatives to walk home by themselves. "A Foggy Day in London" and "the Cinematographe in London" are both very good views of the many-sided life of the great metropolis. The Cinematographe will be exhibited again to-night, at 6-30 and 9-30 p.m., the programme being different on each occasion.

[15] BG, 27 July 1896, p.6c.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
BY desire of a large number of residents, who, in spite of bad weather, have gone to see the Lumiere cinematographe, the patentee has obtained a fresh lease of the Novelty Theatre for a few more nights, and we strongly recommend our readers to go and see this living photography for themselves. The electric installation at the Novelty Theatre is more than sufficient for the purpose, a powerful arch having been placed at the entrance of the Theatre also. The 24 views which are exhibited every evening (12 at a time) are all highly interesting, and every one of them excites the enthusiasm of the audience. They include the Serpent ; Arrival of a train ; Sea Bathers ; London girl dancers ; Watering the Garden ; Baby's Dinner ; the Photographer ; Champs Elysees ; Paris Cyclists and Equestrians ; Hyde Park sea and rocks ; the Cologne Express ; Parade of the Guard ; Pratical [sic] Joke ; Transformation Hats, etc. We learn that new views are to be added to the programme each evening.

[16] BG, 29 July 1896, p.4f.

MR. SEISTER, who is showing the cinematographe each evening, at the Novelty Theatre, has kindly consented to allow the children of the Scottish Orphanage to see his moving pictures free of charge.

[17] BG, 30 July 1896, p.3b.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE. - Professor Lumiere, of the Cinematographe, has granted pass for free admission of the boys of the J.N. Petit Parsi Orphanage to his exhibitions on the 30th and 31st instant and 1st and 3rd August.

[18] BG, 6 August 1896, p.4f:

AFTER many weary days of rain, the sun shone most of yesterday, and scarcely a drop of rain fell. The change was most welcome, for the weather has been excessively gloomy and dispiriting in Bombay for more than a month. Everyone is hoping the break will continue.

[19] BG, 8 August 1896, p.5e.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
ALTHOUGH this wonderful invention has been on view in Bombay for some weeks now it continues to draw fairly good audiences night after night at the Novelty Theatre. The exhibitions are at 6-30 and 9-30 each evening, except Saturdays and Wednesdays, when the exhibition is at 6-30 only. Perhaps one of the most lifelike views is that of "Babies' quarrels," in which two very little girls, tied in their chair, cannot see eye to eye in regard to the distribution of the jam supply. The manner in which the changes of the countenance of the youngsters are transferred to the canvas is little short of marvellous. The arrival of the train - one of the few views which are forthcoming a second time when "encore" is cried - is also very cleverly shown, the increase in the size of the train as it gets apparently nearer and nearer to the spectator being especially noticeable. The "Vaulting Lesson" and the "Robber Clown" both bring to mind the circus ring, while "The Landing Stage" is a very accurate representation of the scene of hustle and confusion which can be observed at any of the numerous landing stages on the scene. Paris shares with London a good part of the views, but phases of rural life are by no means ignored. Twelve pictures are shown at each exhibition, and there is a change of programme on each occasion.

[20] BG, 11 August 1896, p.4f.

IT has often been suggested that the exhibitions of the Cinematographe might be made even more attractive than they are if they were interspersed with some other form of entertainment. This suggestion has not escaped the notice of the proprietor, who has decided to give three special exhibitions this week, to be interspersed with music, under the direction of Mr. F. Seymour Dove. [At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; 20 views at each. 6-30 p.m. exhibitions each evening as usual.]

[21] BG, 8 August 1896, p.4b.

[22] BG, 13 August 1896, p.5e.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHE.
THE first of the series of special exhibitions of the Cinematographe at the Novelty Theatre, on Tuesday evening, was a distinct success. The selections of music played under the direction of Mr. F. Seymour Dove were appropriate to the views exhibited, and added not a little to the realistic character of the spectacle presented on the canvas. No less than twenty views were exhibited, and the show must be pronounced the best M. Sestier has yet given in Bombay. The second of the series of special exhibitions will take place this evening, and the last to-morrow. The 6-30 p.m. exhibitions will be given each evening.

[23] BG, 15 August 1896, p.4b.

[24] BG, 27 August 1896, p.3f.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.
THE Messageries Maritimes Co's s s Caledonien, 2,093 tons, Captain L Blanc, sailed yesterday for China and Japan, with a general cargo and the following passengers:- .... For Sydney - Mr and Mrs Sistier. [sic] ...

[25] The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 1896, p.6h, Arrival of the Polynesien.

[26] Georges Sadoul, Louis Lumière (Cinéma d'Aujord'hui, 29; Editions Seghers, 1964), pp.157 - 171.

[27] BG, 16 July 1896, p.4b.

[28] Jack Cato, The Story of the Camera in Australia (Institute of Australian Photography, 1979 (3rd ed.)), p.116.
Cato's version of events has so many errors nothing he states can be trusted.

[29] Eric Reade, Australian Silent Films: A Pictorial History of Silent Films from 1896 to 1929 (Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1970), p.9.
This material is repeated in:
Eric Reade, The Australian Screen: A Pictorial History of Australian Film Making (Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1975).
Reade has copied from Cato (without acknowledgement) and also cannot be trusted.

[30] Albert James Perier, Some comments on Jack Cato's professional photographic "Story of the Camera in Australia" (National Library of Australia, manuscript MS1488).