True Colors (Bilingual edition): Color in Photography from 1849 to 1955

This volume traces the exciting path from the beginning of color photography in the nineteenth century to wide use of the medium with the first Kodak color slide film in 1936.

The desire for color photos has prevailed over the world of photography from the very beginning. What were the early techniques? And when did color become accessible to everyone? The Albertina’s unique collection sheds light on the complex topic of historical color photos. 

Photography’s various coloring processes opened up a radiant new cosmos. This publication includes works ranging from early colorized one-offs to the emergence of mass-produced color photographs on a positive-negative basis. The numerous techniques, many of them little-known, and the resulting diverse applications reveal a revolution across our entire visual culture.
 

Anna Hanreich has been curator of photography at the Albertina, Vienna, since 2012.

Astrid Mahler has been curator of photography at the Albertina, Vienna, since 2000.