Clear Lake California-1939: Rowboats Gliding on Calm Lake Under Overcast Sky

$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
LocationClear Lake, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1939 California

$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.

Rowboats Gliding on Calm Lake Under Overcast Sky — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this vintage home movie captures a serene day of boating on Clear Lake, California. Silhouetted rowboats glide across the calm water under an overcast sky, with distant tree-lined shores visible. The grainy black-and-white footage, framed by the film's characteristic borders, shows people enjoying a peaceful recreational outing. The gentle ripples on the lake and the quiet atmosphere evoke a nostalgic sense of mid-20th century leisure. This archival clip offers authentic, unscripted moments of family and community life, perfect for historical documentaries, editorial content, or nostalgic storytelling.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: ExteriorBlack & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 124761691

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.

Editorial use is the safest path. For commercial use, a clearance review is recommended for the flags below.

People visible: Yes
Minors 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 1166 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: may
Reel-level year note: 1939
Reel-level location note: california
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: Clear Lake, California, 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

water
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silent film footage
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Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Supports 1930s California leisure or boating sequences needing brief authentic home-movie lake footage for documentary, museum, education, or editorial use.
Period detail: The small rowboats, distant shore, black-and-white 8mm image, and 1939 metadata may show late-1930s recreational boating at Clear Lake, California.
Home-movie behavior: The clip records an unstaged observer's view of people moving across calm water, emphasizing quiet leisure rather than posed activity.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include silhouetted boats, seated passengers, rippled lake water, a low tree-lined horizon, cloudy sky, and dark film-frame edges.
Film character: The footage has pronounced 8mm grain, soft focus, slight exposure variation, and dark rounded frame borders that give it clear physical-film texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short cutaway, transition, or memory beat for lake recreation, family travel, or prewar American leisure.
Historical context: The scene places small-boat recreation in a broad waterside landscape, showing everyday outdoor social activity without identifiable landmarks.
Research note: People are visible at a distance, so likeness review may still be needed even though no logos, music, or private property are apparent in the frames.
Research search match: Relevant searches include 1939 Clear Lake boating footage, 1930s California home movie lake, vintage 8mm rowboats, and archival water recreation.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with the same reel, then other 1939 Clear Lake or California leisure footage, then broader vintage boating and lakeside recreation scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1939 Clear Lake home-movie frame showing silhouetted small boats on rippled water below a low distant shore. — Boats cross calm lake water under an overcast sky.

Clear Lake, California footage shows distant people in small boats silhouetted against the water and horizon. — Distant rowboats sit low on the water near the horizon line.

Home-movie view of a small passenger boat on Clear Lake with ripples, a distant shore, and another craft behind it. — A small boat moves across open water with another craft farther away.

Final frame shows distant boaters on Clear Lake, California, framed by 8mm borders and a low horizon. — Boaters appear in silhouette against the broad lake surface.

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