Marius 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 Marseilles, France on 11 June.1 They had with them a Lumière Brothers' cinématographe and a collection of films to be shown therewith, and had been commissioned by the Lumière Brothers to exhibit the cinématographe in India and later in Australia.
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!!",2 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.3 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.
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..4
On the next night, the programme was changed, with six different films being shown.5 The venue was again Watson's Hotel, with the same session times as on 9 July. This programme was repeated on 11 July.6
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.6 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 article7 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.8,9 Also on this day the Bombay Gazette published a technical note10 explaining (to some degree) how the cinématographe functioned. A picture would be worth several hundred words here!
But the first exhibition at the Novelty Theatre did not take place. There was no electric light available!11 So Sestier and the cinématographe returned to Watson's Hotel. He was only able to get to the Novelty Theatre for a successful show on 21 July.12 During that week shows took place at both Watson's Hotel and the Novelty Theatre.
The cinématographe proved to be popular enough that Sestier obtained a further lease of the Novelty Theatre from 27 July through to 15 August.13
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.14 Why did the Bombay Gazette, for all their enthusiasm for Sestier's exhibitions, not yet know his name?
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.15 The Bombay Gazette considered the first of these shows to be "the best M. Sestier has yet given in Bombay".16 At last Marius Sestier is 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.17 Again, F. Seymour Dove provided musical selections.
The following table shows when and where the cinématographe was exhibited in Bombay in July and August 1896. Note that the dates and times were compiled from advertisements and reports and may not accurately reflect what actually occurred.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7 Watson's Hotel 6:00, 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 | 8 | 9 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 | 10 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 | 11 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 | 12 |
| 13 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 | 14 [Novelty Theatre] [6:30, 9:30] | 15 | 16 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:15, 10:00 | 17 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:15, 10:00 | 18 Watson's Hotel 7:00 | 19 |
| 20 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:15, 10:00 | 21 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 22 Watson's Hotel 7:00, 9:15, 10:00 | 23 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 24 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 25 Watson's Hotel 7:00 | 26 |
| 27 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 28 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 29 Novelty Theatre 6:30 | 30 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 31 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 1 Novelty Theatre 6:30 | 2 |
| 3 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 4 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 5 Novelty Theatre 6:30 | 6 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 7 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 8 Novelty Theatre 6:30 | 9 |
| 10 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:30 | 11 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:00* | 12 Novelty Theatre 6:30 | 13 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:00* | 14 Novelty Theatre 6:30, 9:00* | 15 Novelty Theatre 6:30* | 16 |
On 26 August, Marius Sestier and wife left Bombay aboard the steamer Caledonien.18 They were the only passengers listed for Sydney, Australia, which they would reach by changing boat at Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], leaving there aboard the steamer Polynesien on 31 August.19 They arrived at Sydney, having called at Albany, Western Australia and Melbourne, Victoria, on 16 September 1896.
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.
BG = The Bombay Gazette newspaper.
[1] BG, 1 July 1896, p.3f, Shipping Intelligence. The name is spelled "Cestier" in the list of passengers.
[2] BG, 7 July 1896, p.2a, New Advertisements.
[3] BG, 9 July 1896, p.5b, Exhibition of the Cinematographe.
[4] BG, 9 July 1896, p.2a, New Advertisements.
[5] BG, 10 July 1896, p.4a.
[6] BG, 11 July 1896, p.4b.
[7] BG, 11 July 1896, p.5b, The Cinematographe.
[8] BG, 13 July 1896, p.3a, Bombay; To-day.
[9] BG, 13 July 1896, p.4b.
[10] BG, 13 July 1896, p.6b, Scientific Actuality; The "Cinematographe" Explained.
[11] BG, 16 July 1896, p.4f.
[12] BG, 17 July 1896, p.4a.
[13] BG, 27 July 1896, p.6c, The Cinematographe.
[14] BG, 30 July 1896, p.4b.
[15] BG, 8 August 1896, p.4b.
[16] BG, 13 August 1896, p.5e, The Cinematographe.
[17] BG, 15 August 1896, p.4b.
[18] BG, 27 August 1896, p.3f, Shipping Intelligence. The name is spelled "Sistier" in the passenger list.
[19] Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 1896, p.6h, Arrival of the Polynesien.
| Copyright © 2010 Tony Martin-Jones | Edition 2 (2010-02-04) |