Almost Living Color

The Photochrom process was developed in Zürich, by Hans Jakob Schmid, in the 1880s. Used mostly for travel subjects, Photochroms took the place of hand-colored postcards, and were popular until the 1930s, when other color photographic technology became commercially viable.

The richly colored images were created by transferring a black and white photo onto a series of lithographic stones—anywhere from four to 14 -- that were then printed in color. In the U.S., the technology was licensed to The Detroit Publishing Company of Michigan, where thousands of views and millions of prints were produced. A very good technical explanation of the process can be found here.

The Library of Congress has more than 6,000 images, among which are the portraits and other peopled scenes here. Stay tuned for the mouthwatering landscapes ...

Portrait of Berta Lergetporer, Slovenia

Arrowmaker, an Ojibwa brave.

Pee Viggi and squaw.

National Vierlander costume, Hamburg, Germany.

A Chinese family.

Bedouin beggars and children, Tunis, Tunisia.

Bedouin Chief of Palmyra, Holy Land.

Bedouins and children outside tent, Holy Land.

Arab dancing girls, Algiers, Algeria.

Barbers near Seraskierrat, Constantinople, Turkey.

A Bedouin woman, Tunis, Tunisia.