Magic of Photochrom: 25 colorful pictures of places that will never be same again
Photochrom was invented in the 1880s in a Swiss printing company. This is a photographic variant of color lithography. The ink-based images are produced through “the direct photographic transfer of an original negative onto litho and chromographic printing plates.”
These special pictures look like real color photographs. Just with a small peculiarity: with a magnifying glass you will see small dots that comprise the ink-based image.
It was a great invention by that time. And thanks to it now we can lift the veil of secrecy and see how did our ancestors live… to see the streets we pass by every day… to discover how the famous places looked like long time ago — without cars and crowds of tourists… and see some objects that do not exist any more… It’s a real magic!
Dresden, View from the War Ministry, c. 1890-1905
Photo: See page for author [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Townhall in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Detroit Photograph Company (Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Belgian milk peddlers with a dogcart, Brussels, ca. 1890- 1900
Photo: By Detroit Photograph Company [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
An elderly Irish woman with a spinning wheel, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Detroit Photograph Company (Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Ruins of the Castle of Arques, France, ca. 1895
Photo: By …trialsanderrors [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Fingal’s Cave on low tide, Scotland, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Detroit Photograph Company (Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Antwerpen and the river Scheldt, ca. 1890-1900
Cirque de Gavarnie, France, ca. 1890-1905
Photo: Library of Congress [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Kiev Merchants Assembly building (now National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine), ca. 1890-1905
Photo: Library of Congress [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Mulberry Street, New York City, ca.1900
Photo: By Detroit Photograph Company (Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Shakespeare’s Memorial Theatre (burned down in 1926), England, ca. 1890 and 1900
Townhall in Bonn, ca. 1900
Photo: maxpixel.freegreatpicture (CC0 Public Domain)
A Lapp family, Norway, ca. 1897
Photo: trialsanderrors/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Spinners and spinning wheel, Wales, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Detroit Publishing Co. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Kursalon Stadtpark in Vienna
Photo: Library of Congress [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Cafe Bauer, Berlin, ca. 1900
Photo: trialsanderrors/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
St. Nicholas Church, Ghent, Belgium, ca. 1895
Rothenburgh, ca. 1890-1905
Photo: Library of Congress [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Amsterdam Gate, Haarlem, Holland, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Photochrom Print Collection [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
St. Mark’s Place, Venice, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: The Library of Congress/flickr (Public Domain)
Royal Avenue, Belfast, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: By Detroit Publishing Co. (Library of Congress[1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde, Rouen, France, ca. 1897
Photo: By …trialsanderrors [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Arco, Italy, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: trialsanderrors/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy, ca. 1890-1900
Photo: The Library of Congress/flickr (Public domain)
Hochbrucke Square, Copenhagen, Denmark, ca. 1890-1900
