This was a fascinating look into reality only a hundred and twenty years ago.
It was the world of my grand parents as young adults.
Virtually the only motor transport were ships and trains.
No airplanes, no motor cars. Horse drawn transport everywhere in the big cities of Europe and the United States.
Exceptionally low crime rates in Europe and the U.S.
Almost no restrictions on personal arms at all, but I did not see any armed persons.
Absolutely fascinating.
Notice how thin people are. And no one is walking around carrying a large soda.
I agree. I’m from Chicago. You can take a carriage ride for 45$ that is slower than walking. What’s interesting from these films is how fast these teamsters have their carriages going. The horse are all in a fast trot.
My grandfather would have been 11 when the films were made. But he was in a small town in Indiana.
A friend of mine said his great grandfather would walk nearly 30 miles to the mines, where he worked for 5 days. Then he would walk home, much of it at night, to spend a day or so with his family. When he saved up enough to buy a horse, he thought he was a deity! The luxury of being able to ride a horse 30 miles instead of walking it...in the 1880s.
Derringers were a thing then so hard to know how many were armed. I wonder how many people regularly carried a derringer? I tried to get an actual number but just came up that they were popular, might be interesting to know.
“Almost no restrictions on personal arms at all, but I did not see any armed persons.”
Dueling was still practiced. Probably a lot of of walking sticks concealed blades.