Retronaut.co: 1920's Egypt in Color
photos from Gervais Courtellmont and W. Robert Moore for National Geographic
These insanely cool photos are Autochromes, which was a very early method of color photgraphy. The process is quite complicated but also really interesting (as is the way with many historical processes). It involves grains of potato starch which act as filters.
These photos seem remarkably well-preserved (although we don't know what kind of digital restoration has been applied to them for the web), which seems possible because Autochromes are notoriously difficult to reproduce. Even so, this kind of quality is really impressive from a relatively primitive technology.
It's also interesting to consider how much but also how little has changed since the photos were taken.
Also, Retronaut, the blog where I found these images, is insanely cool and you should check it out. They publish sweet vintage photos and things.
Love,
Caleb Savage
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