Take a trip through time, from 1896 to 1978. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism and over the course of a century it documented everything from major global events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, science and culture.
Its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when renowned filmmaker Charles Pathé, along with his brothers founded Société Pathé Frères. French Pathé began its newsreel in 1908 and in 1910 Pathé opened a newsreel office in Wardour Street, London.
It created a phenomenon, as millions of people around the world attended movie theatres for their weekly dose of filmed news. By 1930, British Pathé was covering news, entertainment, sport, and culture.
In 2002, partially funded by the UK National Lottery, the entire archive was digitised. In an effort to make the archive more accessible, on 7 February 2009, British Pathé launched a YouTube channel and by April 2014, had uploaded the entire collection of 85,000 historic films. As of 2020, the British Pathé archive includes material from the Reuters historical collection.
The British Pathé archive is a rare and useful source of historic reference, which is certain to inspire.
Here are some of our video recommendations:
- Have You A Good Skull? (1934)
- Vasco Lazzolo AKA Victor Lazzola Draws (1938)
- Giles Cartoonist (1945)
- Personality Meet – Ernest Shepard (1946)
- Vogue London in 1946 – The Making of Vogue Magazine
- Dan Dare (1956)
- Punch Magazine (1962)
- Paris Fashions (Playlist)
- Film Stars (Playlist)
- Vintage Fashions Channel Videos (Playlist)
British Pathé also runs an award-winning online video streaming service called “British Pathé TV”, featuring hundreds of full-length documentaries and classic movies.
The entire British Pathé archive is available to view online for free via their website and YouTube.
