As we've seen, hand-tinting was a common practice through the 19th and early 20th centuries, when colour photography was non-existent or difficult to access. Tinting can vary from subtle to intense, elegant to garish-- and, honestly, the latter of both pairs are my favourites. The colours of this set are certainly intense, though expertly applied, and certainly sometimes border on the garish. This effect is magnified by the fact many have experienced significant fading of the photograph, affecting the gelatin silver image but not the bright dyes, leading to an often surreal appearance.
The photographs are lantern slides, precursors to film slides, positive photographs on glass meant to be projected. This set was made at the Paris Exposition of 1900, by the fine arts curator of the Brooklyn museum, William Henry Goodyear, and the photographer Joseph Hawes. The Brooklyn Museum has 271 of this set on the Flickr Commons; I've picked a few that appeal to me, but I recommend a further look!
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| Brooklyn Museum |
An unidentified outdoor view. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
The Palace of Decorative Arts. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
Pont d' Iena and Trocadero Palace. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
The Commercial Navigation Building. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
"Old Paris," a section created to evoke a picturesque view of the city in bygone days. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
An unidentified view, presumably in an Asian-themed area. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
A street scene. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
A moving sidewalk-- here is contemporary film footage of it in action! Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
A night view of the Exposition. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
A view of gardens near the Eiffel Tower. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
Unidentified exterior view. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
A street scene. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
Various pavilions along the water Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
Rolling chairs used for transportation. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
An unidentified exterior view. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
An unidentified view [perhaps "Old Paris?"] Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
Aerial view of the Pont d'Iena and Trocadero Palace. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
An aerial view of the Pont d'Iena. Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
The Salle Des Fetes [I think this was the first picture from the Flickr Commons I favourited, when the Commons first came out years ago, long before this blog!] Source
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| Brooklyn Museum |
The Eiffel Tower, of course. Source
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