Century old color photographs of Russia

[Cem_Usakligil]

I've just stumbled upon this story, regarding color photographs of Russia taken between 1909-1912. The article in boston.com mentions that a specialized camera has been used to take 3 BW photos using red, green and blue filters. The images have then been projected using lanterns to achieve near color images. Anyway, I think that the pictures look eerily modern and cheerful assuming this is not a hoax, lol.



Cheers,

 

[Murray Foote]

The use of red blue and green exposures is apparant (to me at least) in 10 of the 34 exposures so I don't think it is a hoax. What I find remarkable is that in 24 of the images, there is no spectral distortion. He must have got his subjects to sit very still. Perhaps the camera used three glass plates fused together in a frame so he could take successive exposures without pulling out one plate and putting another in.

Amazing images that really do bring the past to life!

Regards,
Murray

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

The use of red blue and green exposures is apparant (to me at least) in 10 of the 34 exposures so I don't think it is a hoax. What I find remarkable is that in 24 of the images, there is no spectral distortion. He must have got his subjects to sit very still. Perhaps the camera used three glass plates fused together in a frame so he could take successive exposures without pulling out one plate and putting another in.

Amazing images that really do bring the past to life!

Regards,
Murray

Yes indeed Murray. The images are really amazing. I actually didn't think that it would be a hoax for the reasons you've mentioned and the fact that this is a serious publication. But the results are so good that I was kind of flabbergasted.

Cheers,

 

[Murray Foote]

... which sparked a memory of a link I bookmarked some years ago and here are some more by the same photographer, with the front image showing the separations.