Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 17:42:07 GMT
These postcards of France in the last years of the 19th century were created using the Photochrom process, a technique by which black-and-white photos were imbued with vibrant and lifelike color. Invented in the 1880s by a Swiss printer, the Photochrom process began with coating a tablet of lithographic limestone with a light-sensitive emulsion and exposing it to sunlight under a photo negative for several hours. The emulsion would then harden in proportion to the tones of the negative, resulting in a fixed lithographic image on the tablet.
Further litho stones would then be prepared for each tint to be used in the final color postcard — a single image could require well over a dozen different stones.
Though a time-consuming and delicate endeavor, the Photochrom process resulted in color images with a rare degree of verisimilitude, especially at a time when true color photography was still in its infancy.
Many more can be found Here
Further litho stones would then be prepared for each tint to be used in the final color postcard — a single image could require well over a dozen different stones.
Though a time-consuming and delicate endeavor, the Photochrom process resulted in color images with a rare degree of verisimilitude, especially at a time when true color photography was still in its infancy.
Many more can be found Here
