1840s-1940s
Building 10 wonders
of the world — in color
of the world — in color
Colorized construction of 10 global landmarks
c. 1889
Tower Bridge under construction, London.
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
These 10 photographs, in monochrome and then reconstructed color, are taken from the forthcoming book The Paper Time Machine, a collaboration between Retronaut and Jordan Lloyd of Dynamichrome. The finished book will contain 130 reconstructed color historical photographs arranged chronologically, chosen and introduced by Retronaut.
Apr. 1844
Nelson's Column under Construction, Trafalgar Square, London. This image suggests industrious advances in the construction of the column. However, when Talbot took this photograph the building work had actually been halted while the government took over the project from the building committee whose funds had run out. Talbot invented the negative/positive process for making photographs between 1835 and 1839. Any number of prints could be made of a single image from the negative.
IMAGE: SSPL/GETTY IMAGES.
Apr. 1844
Jordan: "Taken at the very dawn of photographic technology, the resulting process gives the image a somewhat ghostly look as the long exposure blurs people walking down Trafalgar Square. The bold colours used in the advertising were sourced from real examples and paintings from the era."
IMAGE: SSPL/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
1882
Workers build the Statue of Liberty inside French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's workshop in Paris. The background shows the carved arm of the statue. At the back (right) are smaller models of the arm and the head.
IMAGE: ALBERT FERNIQUE/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
1882
Jordan: "The stylised look of this workshop photograph is a result of the overexposed highlights and less mid tone definition. The huge ceiling openings provide ample light for the craftsmen to beat the copper skin over wooden and plaster formwork seen in the background."
IMAGE: ALBERT FERNIQUE/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
1880s
The bell-tower of the Sacre Coeur Basilica under construction on the Montmartre Hill in Paris.
IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES
1880s
Jordan: "Remarkably, many of the elements in the photograph still remain the same today, including the Réservoir de Montmartre and the Saint Pierre de Montmartre to the left of the Sacre Coeur, as well as the apartment blocks on Rue Maurice Utrillo on the right."
IMAGE: IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
As the layers of colour build up, the effect is disorientatingly real and the decades and centuries just fall away.
c. 1889
Tower Bridge was begun in 1881 and opened in 1894, to designs by Sir Horace Jones. It was designed so that the central section could be raised to allow the passage of ships to and from the busy wharves of London.
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES.
c. 1889
Jordan: "The 11,000 tonnes of steelwork would be eventually clad in Portland Stone and Cheesewring granite from Cornwall, which can be seen at the base of the bridge. The numerous ships and skiffs lurking in the background are all sourced from contemporaneous paintings of the era."
IMAGE: IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
This is a modern interpretation of a craft that has existed since the dawn of photography. Originally, color was hand-painted on to prints by talented artisans.
Jul. 1888
Construction of the Eiffel Tower, Paris.
IMAGE: ROGER VIOLLET/GETTY
Jul. 1888
Jordan: "The original colour of the Eiffel Tower during its construction in 1888 was called 'Venetian Red' as shown in the photograph, applied in the workshop before being assembled on site. The tower has been repainted over a dozen times since, in different shades ranging from a reddish brown to bronze."
IMAGE: ROGER VIOLLET/GETTY. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
c. 1920
A view of a trilithon being re-erected during Lieutenant-Colonel Hawley's excavations and renovations at Stone Henge in 1919 and 1920. The monument itself dates to circa 2000 B.C., although the site was in use much earlier than this.
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
c. 1920
Jordan: "The trilithons of Stonehenge are well documented and the site has hardly changed in the decades since the photograph was taken."
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
May 31, 1932
Gutzon Borglum and supt. inspecting work on the face of Washington, Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota.
IMAGE: LIBARY OF CONGRESS
May 31, 1932
Jordan: "Contemporary references of the granite were used to help get the colour variation correct, and the object in the top left corner is part of the hand of the photographer."
IMAGE: LIBARY OF CONGRESS. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME.
c. 1935
Officials ride in one of the penstock pipes of the soon-to-be-completed Hoover Dam, Arizona.
IMAGE: BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
c. 1935
Jordan: "Conveying the officials in the photograph is a section of 30-foot diameter steel penstock pipe nearly three inches thick. Arizona's geology in the background remains the same as it did back in 1935."
IMAGE: BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
c. 1934
The Golden Gate Bridge under construction, San Francisco, California.
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / CHAS. M. HILLER.
c. 1934
Jordan: "The base tower in the mid ground is rendered in a red lead primer from Bethlehem steel. That became the basis for consulting architect Irving Morrow’s studies to render the bridge in the now familiar International Orange, to increase its visibility to passing ships."
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / CHAS. M. HILLER.
Are your colorized images meant to replace the original monochromatic photographs?
Jordan: No, absolutely not. The original photographs are unique historical artifacts — these are remixes. Our intention is to offer a supplement, to suggest a flavor of what colors the photographer may have seen through the viewfinder.
How do you think the original photographers might react to your work?
Jordan: The photographers appear to be seeking to record events as well as exercising artistic intent. It's possible that, given access to color photography of the quality we enjoy today, some may have utilized it as a tool.
How do you know what the colors would have been?
Jordan: We aim to eliminate the guesswork as far as possible. We ask a lot of questions: What time of day was it? Do shadows tell us about the weather? What does the exact location look like today? What was clothing like in that era? The result is digital painting over hundreds of layers.
What's the hardest part of color reconstructing?
Jordan: Sometimes photographs have been damaged nearly beyond repair. Hardest of all is asking the right questions to be able to source the color reference we need.
What is the most rewarding element of the process?
Jordan: Seeing the transformation right before our eyes.
c. 1942
Covered in bamboo scaffolding to disguise it from enemy bombers, the dome of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India, looks almost as if it is being built during WWII. Private First Class John C. Byrom, Jr., of Waco, Texas, trying to catch a goldfish in the marble-lined pool at the approach to the Taj Mahal. Observing are Corporal Anthony J. Scopelliti and Private First Class Ray Cherry.
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
c 1942
Jordan: "The lack of shadows suggest an overcast day at the Taj Mahal, softening the pink cast of the marble."
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY JORDAN LLOYD.
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