[Ernest G. Stillman--home movies] Reel 9

Date1930 – 1949

Viewing NotesReel numbers are donor-assigned. // Can label: Fishing in Maine, Fish. // Reel of amateur footage that documents herring fishing off the coast of Maine. Begins with scene of a seine being strung across the mouth of a harbor by fishermen in whaleboats while seagulls circle overhead. Men drag large nets full of herring into whaleboats and stand in the middle of the boats filled with the writhing fish. Large schools of herring are seen swimming under the surface of the water, trapped in the seine. Fisherman standing in whaleboat full of herring steers boat to larger fishing ship and the herring are scooped out of the whale boats and onto the ship, and salt is then shoveled on top of the fish. - RN

Abstractb&w Intertitle: "When the herring swarm" Intertitle: "The seiner" b&w, fishing vessel with hill behind, another shot of sail-powered fishing vessels. Intertitle: "The sein [sic] strung across the harbor's mouth" Two men stand in dories, behind them various boats. Net with float, view from moving boat. View of net floats and in the background, boathouse and dock. Net comes out of water on rocks. Intertitle: "Skooping [sic] up fish by the bushel" Man stands in dory adjacent to net, has round metal loop net on pole, hauls net into dory and stands with another man in boat with fish almost up to their knees. View of fish in water surrounded by large net and floats. CU hands pulling net in, then more fish in water. Men stand in boat, gather more fish, both work to pull in net on pole, then one man does the work. They wear souwester jackets and pants and caps. Gloves. Boat is almost full to the rail. Intertitle: "50 bushel to a whale boat" Man stands and rows whaleboat full of fish. View from above, the fish are up to his knees and the fish are still flipping as they fill the boat. He holds his oar up to be caught. Intertitle: "Herring to-day, sardines to-morrow, loading sardine boat" CU of faces of men loading herring into hold of boat. Salt. Man has earring. Another man has sunglasses, leans on pole. Two men shovel herring onto ramp on side of boat to get them into hold. NOTE: DVD from March 2005 transfer has Stillman Reel 9 and then a Holman Day two-reeler after black. Ignore the Holman Day.

Creator

• Ernest G. Stillman

• Ernest G. Stillman