Ralph H. Major, MD (1884-1970) was an American doctor from Kansas City, Missouri teaching medicine at the University of Munich in the 1930s. His children, Ralph Jr. (b. 1920) and John (b. 1924), attended a boarding school in Marquartstein, Germany during the time. His wife Margaret (b. 1891) and daughter Virginia (b. 1926) visited them in Europe in the summers of 1933, 1934 and 1937. Major captured several reels of 16mm film of Albania and Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, and England.
Original paper in can: Albania - Tirana, Bazars, Street Scenes, Market (color), Friday in Tirana; Jugoslavia- Dubrovnik (Ragusa), Bled, King Peter
The date of this footage is unknown. It may be 1937 as that is when Ralph Major used color film stock in other vacation destinations. A curator from the National Gallery in Tirana suggests that it could have been shot between 1928 and 1933 given the appearance of certain buildings.
"ALBANI""Streets and Bazaars of Tiran" Street scenes in Tirana. Craftsmen line up across from the Et'hem Bey mosque (in front of what is now the entrance to the National Library). Shop with three boys. Cobblers making traditional wooden shoes called"nallan". MCUs, market, merchants selling wares. Artisans making"qelesh", the traditional Albanian cap. Pottery-making. The old bazaar - crowded outdoor market. Pan up, Xhamia e Kokonozit mosque (torn down by the communists in 1967). 01:02:59 Street scenes with pedestrians and building (what is now the Avni Rustemi statue). Four American visitors (the Major Family) move towards the camera in a horse-drawn carriage. LS, bazaar with banner hanging above the street, locals, and two policemen. 01:04:05"Market Day in Tiran" (color) Xhamia e Kokonozit Mosque. Main market in the center of Tirana. 01:05:01 Xhamia e vjeter (the Old Mosque) (sustained serious damage during battle between the communists and occupying Germans in November 1944; this is now the monument to the unknown partisan). LS, street scenes, pedestrians, bicycles, people sit on curb, children, shops, policemen. 01:06:12"Friday in Tiran" More shots of the Xhamia e vjeter Mosque (black and white), with a well in the courtyard and man sitting at the entryway, engraved stones. 01:06:39 Brief shot of the Majors, Virginia waves to the camera. Men wash, and others enter the mosque. Herd of goats in the city streets by the Tomb of Kapllan Pasha (01:07:17). Et'hem Bey Mosque. Market scenes.
Market scenes in Tirana