History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. ~Winston Churchill

08 October, 2013

The Paris Exposition, Tinted

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! 



Brooklyn Museum

An unidentified outdoor view. Source




Brooklyn Museum

The Palace of Decorative Arts. Source





Brooklyn Museum

Pont d' Iena and  Trocadero Palace. Source




Brooklyn Museum

The Commercial Navigation Building. Source




Brooklyn Museum

"Old Paris," a section created to evoke a picturesque view of the city in bygone days. Source




Brooklyn Museum

An unidentified view, presumably in an Asian-themed area. Source




Brooklyn Museum

A street scene. Source




Brooklyn Museum




Brooklyn Museum

A night view of the Exposition. Source




Brooklyn Museum

A view of gardens near the Eiffel Tower. Source




Brooklyn Museum

Unidentified exterior view. Source




Brooklyn Museum

A street scene. Source




Brooklyn Museum

Various pavilions along the water Source




Brooklyn Museum

Rolling chairs used for transportation. Source



Brooklyn Museum

An unidentified exterior view. Source




Brooklyn Museum

An unidentified view [perhaps "Old Paris?"] Source




Brooklyn Museum

Aerial view of the Pont d'Iena and Trocadero Palace. Source




Brooklyn Museum

An aerial view of the Pont d'Iena. Source




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




Brooklyn Museum

The Eiffel Tower, of course. Source




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