New York USA-1939: Polar Bear in Stone Enclosure at Zoo

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1939
Decade1930s
LocationNew York, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1939 New York

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Polar Bear in Stone Enclosure at Zoo — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this vintage home movie captures a polar bear in a zoo enclosure, viewed through a dark frame. The bear sits calmly on a stone platform near a low rock wall, its white fur contrasting with the gray stonework. The grainy black-and-white footage, with visible film grain and soft focus, evokes a nostalgic, archival feel. The scene is quiet and contemplative, offering a glimpse into mid-20th century zoo life and animal captivity.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 123041546

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 1676 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: jane
Reel-level year note: 1939
Reel-level location note: new york,washington
Date: 1939 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: New York, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1930s archive requests needing New York zoo animal footage, captivity cutaways, or brief home-movie inserts of a polar bear in an enclosure.
Period detail: The black-and-white 8mm look, stone zoo habitat, railings, and dark in-camera framing support the supplied 1939 New York home-movie context.
Home-movie behavior: The clip carries a visitor-shot viewpoint, watching quietly through fencing or a shaded foreground frame as the polar bear sits in its enclosure.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a seated polar bear, stone platform, low rock wall, barred fencing, dark frame edges, and a brief elephant view in an adjacent enclosure.
Film character: Soft focus, visible grain, uneven exposure, and dark gate-like borders give the short 8mm scan a physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a zoo-life cutaway, animal captivity insert, transition between New York travel scenes, or quiet memory beat.
Historical context: The footage shows a mid-20th-century zoo setting from a visitor perspective, with animal enclosures presented as everyday leisure scenery.
Research note: No people, logos, or audible music are visible or indicated, but copyright status and any zoo property or institution permissions should be checked separately.
Research search match: Search matches include 1939 New York zoo home movie, 8mm polar bear enclosure, vintage zoo animal footage, and black-and-white wildlife captivity cutaway.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with nearby same-reel zoo scenes, then other 1939 New York footage, and then broader vintage zoo or animal enclosure material.

Still Frames From This Clip

1939 New York zoo home-movie frame showing an elephant behind metal fencing and dark foreground bars. — An elephant stands behind fencing in a stone-and-metal zoo enclosure.

1939 New York zoo footage shows a polar bear seated on a stone platform, framed by dark edges and a rock wall. — A polar bear sits calmly inside a stone zoo enclosure.

The polar bear remains seated in the 1939 New York zoo enclosure, with stonework and dark foreground framing visible. — The seated polar bear faces left beside the low rock wall.

A polar bear sits near rocks and stone walls in the supplied 1939 New York zoo home-movie frame. — The polar bear looks forward while sitting on the stone floor of the enclosure.

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