San Francisco California-1939: Passengers Aboard Steamship Preparing to Set Sail

$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
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration6s
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.

Passengers Aboard Steamship Preparing to Set Sail — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this vintage home movie captures passengers aboard a steamship in San Francisco, California, as it prepares to set sail. Through the porthole, a crowd of men and women in period attire—hats, suits, and dresses—gazes outward, some waving. The grainy black-and-white footage shows the ship’s structure and railings, conveying a sense of anticipation and nostalgia. The scene reflects early 20th-century ocean travel, with a mix of anxious and excited expressions as the vessel departs. This archival clip offers authentic historical footage for documentaries, editorial content, or nostalgic storytelling.

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: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127270397

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: San Francisco, 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

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1939 San Francisco ship-departure footage suited to documentary or museum edits needing period ocean-travel passengers seen from a home-movie viewpoint.
Period detail: Men and women in hats and dark coats behind ship windows may show late-1930s travel dress, with railings, awning supports, and cabin openings visible.
Home-movie behavior: The value is in the unstaged crowd reaction as passengers look outward, cluster at windows, and appear to wave during departure.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include ship windows, seated and standing passengers, brimmed hats, railings, canvas or metal supports, a microphone-like pole, and dark film borders.
Film character: The black-and-white 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, gate edges, and mild exposure variation that read as original home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief insert, departure transition, or memory beat for ocean travel, migration, family farewell, or prewar-era movement.
Historical context: The scene visually places ordinary passengers within a steamship departure setting without identifying the vessel, voyage, or individuals shown.
Research note: Faces are visible and may require likeness review, while copyright status, vessel identity, and location claims should be checked separately from any property or privacy concerns.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1939 San Francisco steamship departure, 8mm ocean liner passengers, vintage ship crowd waving, and home movie sea travel.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent same-reel departure footage, then other 1939 San Francisco waterfront material, then broader ocean-liner, passenger, and farewell scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1939 San Francisco home-movie frame showing passengers in hats behind ship windows during a departure scene. — Passengers gather behind the ship windows as the vessel appears ready to leave.

Passengers aboard a ship in San Francisco appear through cabin windows, some facing outward toward the camera. — The crowd remains at the windows, with hats and faces visible through the ship structure.

Black-and-white 8mm frame of passengers clustered behind ship windows during a 1939 San Francisco sailing scene. — People aboard the ship look out from the windows as the camera records from a distance.

Late-1930s ship departure frame with visible passengers, window frames, railings, and dark 8mm gate edges. — The final frame shows the passenger group partly obscured by the ship structure and film border.

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