Autochrome: Popularity and Usage


Figure 1.--Here we see an Autochrome taken in England. Note how the outfits, especially the boy's colorful prep school uniform were chosen to show off the color process. The photograph is undated, but was robably taken about 1910. The little boy's sailor hat has 'HMS INDOMITABLE' written on the tally. The "Indomitable" was the first battle cruiser built in 1907.

We are not sure how popular the Lumière Autochrome process was. It did produce the first commerciably viable color prints. It was not, however, suitable for home photography. And thus there were not massive numbers of images made. The Autochrome process used glass plates. Thus only the most advanced amateur photographer could use them. Autochromes were were relatively easy to use once the equipment was purchased. They thus became popular with comptent amateur photographers. This meant photographers who could afford the expense and could deal with the inconvenience of bulky equipment. They could be used by professional photographers. There was no Autochrome film until the 1930s when the brothers had to compete with Agfa and Kodak. It may have needed sunlight as flash bulbs could have affected the color balance. This may have also affected its use. We suspect it may have ths been a expensive proposition, but our information is very limited. We note images from a few different countries, especially Britain. The image here was taken in Britain (figure 1). we have not found any American images. But we do not note large numbers of Autochrome images. We do not know how many autochrome images were made, but we rarely see them for sale. This suggests that they were not made in large mumbers. The examples we have found do provide a wonderful glimse of color to an otherwise black-and-white world of the early-20th cenntury. We note a few World Wwar I images. Early National Geographic photographers used autochrome glass plates. Until after World War I, Autochrome was the only available color process. The bulky camera, however, limited its use by National Geographic photographers. The magazine was largely black and white through the 1950s, but sometimes included a few color images. For the most part that meant Kodachrome once the film was introduced by Kodak.

Popularity

We are not sure how popular the Lumière Autochrome process was. It did produce the first commerciably viable color prints. It was not, however, suitable for home photography. And thus there were not massive numbers of images made. The Autochrome process used glass plates. Thus only the most advanced amateur photographer could use them. Autochromes were were relatively easy to use once the equipment was purchased. They thus became popular with comptent amateur photographers. This meant photographers who could afford the expense and could deal with the inconvenience of bulky equipment. They could be used by professional photographers. There was no Autochrome film until the 1930s when the brothers had to compete with Agfa and Kodak. It may have needed sunlight as flash bulbs could have affected the color balance. This may have also affected its use. We suspect it may have ths been a expensive proposition, but our information is very limited. We do not know how many Autochrome images were made, but we rarely see them for sale. This suggests that they were not made in large mumbers. The examples we have found do provide a wonderful glimse of color to an otherwise black-and-white world of the early-20th cenntury.

Countries

Most all of the Autochrome images that we have found were French. And we believe that a very large proprtion of the Autchrome images made were French. We know, however, that images were taken in many different countries. lthough th solute numbersare probbly smll compsred to France. We think this was mostly French photogrphers traveling round the world. We note some images Britain. The image here was taken in Britain (figure 1). we have not found any American images, but we know that some were taken. We do not note large numbers of Autochrome images so we have relatively few foreign images. We know that National Geographic photographers used Autochrome. This included American photographers because until the 1930s, Autochrome was the only available color process. It was, however, not ideal for Nationl Geographic photographers. They often worked in remote areas. Thus the bulky cameras that had to be used to expose glass plates as well as the plates themselves were a problem. Autochrome film did not appear until the 1930s.

Chronology

The chronology of Autochrome photography is difficult to follow because the avilanle images are somewhst limited and mny are undated. The Lumière brothers developed their process (1904). They began marketing it (1907). We are not sure how extensively it was marketed, but as the only available color process, it must have created some interest. As it was introduced late in the decade, we suspect that the numbers taken during the decade were limited. We have not yet found an example dated in the 1900s. Many more early Autochromes date from the 1910s. We note a few World War I images. There seems to be three main photographers in France using Autochrome during World War I. Jean Baptiste Tournassoud was head of the Photography Department of the French army, Paul Castelnau (1888-1944), and Fernand Cuville (1887-1927). Autochrome continued to be the exclusive available color process available in the 1920s. A great deal of work was done on color photography during the 1920s. Competitors appeared in the 1930s, including American Kodak and German Agfa processes whichb used film making in more usable by amateurs. The Lumière brothers also came out with a film version (1930s). A few Autochromes were taken in the early-40s, but production was discontinued during the German occupation (1942).

National Geographic

Early National Geographic photographers used autochrome glass plates. Until after World war I, Autochrome was the only available color process. The bulky camera, however, limited its use by National Geographic photographers. The magazine was largely black and white through the 1950s, but sometimes included a few color images. For the most part that meant Kodachrome once the film was introduced by Kodak (early-1930s). Kodachrome was the first mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive color method. It had great appeal to photographers because it could be enlarged substntially without losing resolution.








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