True Colors: Color in Photography from 1849 to 1955

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.