Esmé Collings

The son of local bootmaker James Collings, he followed his father into the trade, before his artistic ambitions were nurtured by Keturah Anne Beedle, whom he married in 1887.

[2][4][7] Around 1887, Collings and his brother James went into partnership with film pioneer William Friese-Greene running two London photographic studios at 69 New Bond Street and 92 Piccadilly.

[7] By the summer of 1896, Collings had taken up residence at 13 Alexandra Villas, Hove and begun to build a catalogue of films including Railway Scene, featuring a train arriving at The Dyke railway station mimicking the Lumière Brothers' Train Pulling into a Station, A Victorian Lady in Her Boudoir, an early erotic film, and The Broken Melody, featuring Dutch cellist Auguste van Biene.

[8] In 1897, Collings filmed three scenes based on the popular song Simon the Cellarer for Lewis Sealy to screen accompanied by live singers.

[7] The pioneering film work of Esme Collings, as well as James Williamson and George Albert Smith, was commemorated in the 1966 BBC Television programme It Began in Brighton, produced by Melvyn Bragg and directed by Tristram Powell.