First colour picture of Dublin
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Does anyone know when the first colour pictures of Dublin were taken? One of O’Connell Street with the pillar, perhaps, or a city centre shot of some description. I reckon it must have been in the 1950s some time. Maybe I’m way out….
I saw a photo of the pillar area in colour from what looked like the early 1950s. Not sure if it was one of the first ones or not though
The Autochrome proccess, which was the first industrial colour proccess… was patented by Lumiere in the first ten years of the 20th C. I saw a programme recently where two women french photographers made a trip to ireland before the 1st World War… using Autochrome. These were mainly of the West of Ireland but there might be some of Dublin… I think it’s the Albert Kahn collection… Paris.
Was there not some article recently in a Sunday Supplement with the shots taken around Aran Islands with bright red shawls on the country lasses.
Don’t think it had any of Dublin in the article though.
Great source of pictures at http://hip.nli.ie/#focus. The online catalogue search will not distinguish between colour and black and white however.
JJAs far as I know, those two French women who photographed the west of Ireland in colour in 1913 passed through Dublin also but, unfortunately for us, did not take any pictures there.
If they had, we might have had some pictures of O’Connell Street prior to the 1916 destruction.
It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? – a colour record of the red brick Georgians running down to the GPO & Pillar. Some Victorian infill had already taken place of course, especially on the Clery’s stretch, but it was still a predominantly Georgian brick streetscape.
Devin, this is exactly what I am thinking about – a pic of O’Connell Street, even from the 1920s, showing the colours of the horse and carts, the Pillar, and those people with their capeens and curiously quick walking styles!
Ha, ha! I know just what you mean – everybody always seems so industrious & busy going about their business in those old photos & newsreel clips of Dublin.
I’d say there are very few pre-World War 2 colour photos of the city centre. There were a couple of early colour photographic processes such as the one Ros mentioned – Autochrome. But the U.S. introduction of Kodachrome in the late ’30s was the breakthrough in terms of sheer lifelike image quality. But because of the inertia effect that Ireland underwent in everything back then, that probably didn’t even arrive here until several years after WW 2 (the “Emergency” here).
Still, I’d love to know exactly what exists in terms of early Irish colour photography.
Oh for goodness sake, Ireland was not quite the luddite capital of the world until John Hinde came along. I have no doubt that as the technology existed, that there were thousands of colour photos taken in Dublin at least from as early as the 30s, but are now resting in attics all over the city. Seek and ye shall find.
Doubtless lots were taken, but in what condition now? Look how badly the Fr. Browne black & white collection deteriorated for want of proper storage. And colour goes off even quicker; dyes fade, film begins to eat itself etc.
Sue,
People “walked faster” becuase of differences in frame rates, which are responsible for old films looking jerky. The frame rate for filming was 18fps and when played back at 24fps the action appears to speed up.
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