Color Photography Before It Was Mainstream

(Photo taken in 1877)

I find it really interesting to find photos taken prior to 1950 that were in pure color, as they just weren't very common, especially for middle class Americans or even upper middle class Americans, at that. It was still quite a novelty and not very cheap.

Here are a few amazing pictures prior to what became Kodachrome:

The first known color photograph from (gasp!) 1861. It shows ribbon from a tartan.

The following pictures were taken by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky from the early 1900s.

When Kodak came around, they began to make a mainstream 35mm and Slide film called Kodachrome, which became popular amongst amateaurs and professionals alike. It was still pricey for the time, but for those who got to use it saw color in a whole new way. It was as if Technicolor had reached inside their camera and taken it over. Please see some beautiful images using Kodachrome film from the 1930s to 1940s:

Well, lets just say color photography has not been the same since.

These timeless early color images will tell a story for generations to come.

"Kodachrome" by Paul Simon (1973)

They give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah

I got a Nikon camera

I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

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Sadly, due to the lack of interest by most of today's digital camera consumers,
Kodak discontinued Kodachrome film in 2009.