The very oldest pictures of Batavia/Jakarta in full colour date from 1937. James Anthony FitzPatrick’s series “The Voice of the Globe”, of which yesterday we posted footage from 1939, already pictured Java with a Technicolor camera in 1937. Well, it was broadcasted in American cinemas in March 1937 so it could well be that we are looking here at colour images from 1936. It is part of a combined episode “Glimpses of Java and Ceylon” however we will only show Java here.
We see footage of Kali Besar, the Chinese quarter, Molenvliet and the famous ‘rijsttafel’ (rice table) at Hotel des Indes. Including attractive glasses of cold beer in colour served in the garden of this famous Batavia/Jakarta landmark of the past. Enjoy these unique pictures… the oldest footage in colour we have of our beloved city.
