10 + Shades of Kisses

The first film shown commercially to a public, featuring a kiss, was shot by Thomas Edison in 1896 and called “The Kiss”, which is also popularly known as “The May Irwin Kiss”. Around 18 seconds long, it recreates the kiss between May Irwin and John Rice from the final scene of the stage musical “The Widow Jones”.

However, not everyone found it romantic, like painter John Sloan, who reportedly wrote, “Magnified to Gargantuan proportions and repeated three times over, it is absolutely disgusting."

3. The Homecoming Kiss

The homecoming Kiss was shot by Irving Haberman and first published in Life Magazine. Taken after the end of World War II, the photograph shows actress Marlene Dietrich passionately kissing a GI as he arrives home. "While soldiers hold her up by her famous legs, Marlene Dietrich is kissed by a home-coming GI".

4. Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss

One of the most famous expression of Love in art is this marble statue, that illustrates Paolo Malatesta and Francesca Rimini, two lovers from Dante’s The Divine comedy.

Their kiss is so passionate, you would not know that they were condemned to hell after their affair.

According to the Musée Rodin in Paris, Rodin created this duo originally as part of doors he designed called The Gates to Hell.

In 1886 he decided that this depiction of sensuality and happiness did not fit, so he sculpted a separate statue and exhibited it in 1887.

A version of The Kiss was supposed to be displayed in Chicago in 1863, but the couple’s embrace was considered too erotic for public viewing.

5. Parisian Kiss

This photograph captures the essence of the city of love, Paris. A couple kissing in the busy streets was captured in 1950 by a French photographer.

The fact that this photo was staged didn't come between the popularity of the picture as more than 500,000 posters and 400,000 postcards have been reprinted from the original.

6. The Royal Kiss

The now-iconic kiss was a moment first shared between Princess Diana and Prince Charles on their wedding day in 1981.

During the wedding of the century, Prince Charles forgot to kiss Princess Diana at the end of their wedding ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Because of this, the couple made up for it by kissing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana stood on the balcony overlooking thousands of well-wishers where they shared their first kiss as a married couple.

Their now-famous kiss began a royal wedding tradition that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson followed five years later at their royal wedding.

7. Kisses under the mistletoe

Today, some people seem to spend the holiday season waiting under the mistletoe in the hopes of kissing whoever passes by. But until the 1400s, kissing under mistletoe was a big commitment. Such kisses often meant that a couple was engaged. t is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits.
It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology and that's where the custom of kissing under the Mistletoe comes from. 

8. The World Leaders Kiss

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker shared a “fraternal kiss” in honor of the 30^th anniversary of the German

Democratic Republic in 1979. This kiss is also referred to as the “Kremlin Kiss” and it is an expression of solidarity exchanged between Eastern Bloc

pols when the Soviet Union existed. There was a Dimitri Vrubel mural of this moment on the Berlin Wall captioned: “God help me survive this

deadly love affair.”

9. The Vancouver Riots Kiss

This photo was one of the most viral images in 2011 and it was shot by Rich Lam. The featured kissing couple in the middle of the Vancouver’s hockey riots (after the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup) grasped interest of almost everyone instantly and remained controversial for quite some time, as some thought it was staged.

10.The Kiss of Judas

The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, is how Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him, according to the Synoptic Gospels.

This kiss had an influence on Christian spiritual practices. Early church sects omitted the holy kiss - or abstained from kissing entirely - on Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter and the day used to commemorate the Last Supper, after which Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

11. The Kiss of Death in Godfather Part II

Another kiss of betrayal is pictured in The Godfather Part II (1974), in the scene of mob boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) kissing his brother Fredo (John Cazale) in Havana and reveals that he knows Fredo had betrayed him: “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.”

 The Time magazine called this spine-tingling scene “one of the most powerful kisses in movies: the kiss that kills.”

12. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss

The Kiss is an oil-on-canvas painting with added gold leaf, silver and platinum, by the Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. It was painted at some point in 1907 and 1908, during the height of what scholars call his "Golden Period".

This painting depicts an embracing couple surrounded by regal gold robes. Klimt was known for exploring love, intimacy, and sexuality in his work.

13. The Fastest Runner Kiss

Back in London at the Summer Games on August 9^th, 2012 the world champion Jamaican runner Usain Bolt kissed the track after winning the 100m and 200m races in records times, a first in the Olympic games.

 He told to the New York Times “I am a living legend.”

14. The longest Kiss

A couple from Thailand entered the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss of 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds at the Ripley’s Believe it or not event in Pattaya, Thailand. They celebrated with a good smooch between 12-14thf of February and won a $3.300 cash prize and 2 diamond rings. 

15.Lady and the Tramp

In 1955 Walt Disney almost cut this iconic scene altogether, doubting the fact that 2 dogs would enjoy fine Italian cuisine. This accidental -but-adorable kiss of Lady and the Tramp spawned countless imitations over the years to come. It’s a symbol of purity and love.

16. The back to life kiss of Sleeping Beauty

A true love’s first kiss that inspired decades of girls and women everywhere is the Brother’s Grimm tale of Sleeping Beauty. Princess Aurora is rescued from her deep slumber after being kissed by Prince Philip, who discovered her in the castle.

17. Hershey's Kisses

What can be sweeter than a chocolate kiss?

Hershey's Kisses is a brand of chocolate manufactured by The Hershey Company. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive shape, commonly described as flat-bottomed teardrops.

Hershey's Kisses chocolates are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil with a narrow strip of paper protruding from the top.

They date back to 1907 and now the company can produce up to 70 millions. For Valentine's day, Hershey's make more than 8 million pounds of kisses and sell more than 800 million individual kisses.

18. Largest Mural of Kisses

On June 12, 2012 in São Paulo, Brazil, Nivea Brasil created the largest mural of kisses consisted of no less than 13.316 kisses.

The kisses were made on sticky notes that were displayed as a big kiss on a board measuring 18 m².

The largest mural of kisses consisted of 13,316 kisses and was achieved by NIVEA Brasil, at Pinheiros Station, São Paulo, Brazil, on June 12, 2012. 

19. English Kisses

An English Kiss is an essence of your deepest feelings that manifest into words on paper.

Kisses from London created an overseas surprise service, that delivers your English Kisses as a mystery overseas pack, from London to the door of your loved one.

Whether you turn them into Postcards, Greeting Cards, Audio Greeting Cards or Video Greeting Cards, they will be a loving surprise that generates a genuine smile.

The English Kisses are hand crafted and personalised with your own handwriting and they can include a paper butterfly that flies out when the card is opened. The Kisses are sealed with melted wax to keep their secret message protected.

Kisses from London delivers with each English Kiss a promise of an intense experience created by you.

Try today an English Kiss here.