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19th Century Photochroms of France

Taken in the 19th century, these postcards of France were created using the Photochrom process. This technique transforms black-and-white photos into images with vibrant and lifelike colors. The Photochrom was invented in the 1880s by a Swiss printer.
 
 
The process began with coating a tablet of lithographic limestone with a light-sensitive emulsion, exposing it to sunlight under a photo negative for several hours. In the next phase, 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. Just a single image could require well over a dozen different stones.
 
As you can imagine, this was a time-consuming and delicate endeavor. Nevertheless, the results were extraordinary - bear in mind that this was created at a time when true color photography was still in its infancy. 
 
Click on images to enlarge
 
1. East coast at high tide, Mont St. Michel.
France in Photocrom
2. Notre Dame de Bon Secours and Joan of Arc's monument, Rouen.
France in Photocrom
3. Entrance to harbor, St. Malo.
France in Photocrom

 

4. Thiers.
France in Photocrom
5. Capitol Place, Toulouse.
France in Photocrom
6. Tréport.
France in Photocrom
7. Trouville beach.
France in Photocrom
8. Promenade and Grand Salon, Trouville.
France in Photocrom
9. Trouville beach.
France in Photocrom
10. Cable railway, Marseilles.
France in Photocrom
11. Palace of the Grand Trianon, Versailles.
France in Photocrom
12. The Latone Basin, Versailles.
France in Photocrom
13. Grand Trianon, chamber of Empress Josephine, Versailles.
France in Photocrom
14. Grand Trianon, chamber of Queen Victoria, Versailles.
France in Photocrom
 
15. Gallery of Mirrors, Versailles.
France in Photocrom
16. Cauterets, Pyrenees.
France in Photocrom
17. The Hôpital Spring, Vichy.
France in Photocrom
18. The Malavaux near Vichy.
France in Photocrom
19. The Port Militaire and swing bridge, Brest.
France in Photocrom
20. Caen.
France in Photocrom
21. The valley of Chamonix from the Aiguille du Floria.
France in Photocrom
22. Chartres.
France in Photocrom
23. Dinan.
France in Photocrom
24. Dunkirk.
France in Photocrom
25. The throne room, Fontainebleau Palace.
France in Photocrom
26. Rue de la Republic, Lyon.
France in Photocrom
27. Arena, Nîmes.
France in Photocrom
28. Grand Street, St. Malo.
France in Photocrom
29. Chateau de Duingt, Annecy.
France in Photocrom
30. The Pantheon and the Rue Soufflot, Paris.
France in Photocrom
31. A gallery in the Louvre, Paris.
France in Photocrom
32. Notre Dame, Paris.
France in Photocrom
33. Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
France in Photocrom
34. The Pavilions of the Nations, Exposition Universal, Paris.
France in Photocrom
35. The Palace Lumineux, Exposition Universal, Paris.
France in Photocrom
36. La Grande Roue, Paris.
France in Photocrom
37. Eiffel Tower, Paris.
France in Photocrom
38. The Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero.
France in Photocrom
Images: Library of Congress
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