An American Odyssey: Stunning Color Photos of the United States from the Late 1800s _ Yesteryears in US

   

These rediscovered Photochrom and Photostint postcard images from the private collection of Marc Walter were produced by the Detroit Photographic Company between 1888 and 1924.

Using a photolithographic process that predated the autochrome by nearly 20 years, they offered people the very first color photographs of The United States. Suddenly, the continent's colors were available for all to see. The rich ochres and browns of the Grand Canyon, the dazzle of Atlantic City, became a visual delight not only for eyewitnesses, but for Americans far and wide.

A Monday washing, New York

 

Mulberry Street, New York

 

Zuni people, the rain dance, New Mexico

 

Mount Lowe railway, on the circular bridge, California

 

Grand Canyon, view from O'Neill's Point, Arizona

 

Sunset from the Battery, New York

 

Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, Charleston

 

Diving for coins, Bahamas

 

Members of the Seminole Tribe in Florida

 

Homestake mine, South Dakota

 

A glorious panorama shows the Californian city of San Francisco when it was still a relatively small settlement

 

Mariposa Grove, 'Three Graces', Yosemite national park, California

 

Clear Creek Canyon, Georgetown loop, Colorado


(Photographs: Collection Marc Walter/Taschen)