The Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero.
Image: Library of Congress
These postcards of France in the last years of the 19th century were created using the Photochrom process, a technique by which black-and-white photos were imbued with vibrant and lifelike color.
Invented in the 1880s by a Swiss printer, the Photochrom process began with coating a tablet of lithographic limestone with a light-sensitive emulsion and exposing it to sunlight under a photo negative for several hours.
The emulsion would then harden in proportion to the tones of the negative, resulting in a fixed lithographic image on the tablet.
Further litho stones would then be prepared for each tint to be used in the final color postcard — a single image could require well over a dozen different stones.
Though a time-consuming and delicate endeavor, the Photochrom process resulted in color images with a rare degree of verisimilitude, especially at a time when true color photography was still in its infancy.
East coast at high tide, Mont St. Michel.
Image: Library of Congress
Notre Dame de Bon Secours and Joan of Arc's monument, Rouen.
Image: Library of Congress
Entrance to harbor, St. Malo.
Image: Library of Congress
Thiers.
Image: Library of Congress
Capitol Place, Toulouse.
Image: Library of Congress
Tréport.
Image: Library of Congress
Trouville beach.
Image: Library of Congress
Promenade and Grand Salon, Trouville.
Image: Library of Congress
Trouville beach.
Image: Library of Congress
Cable railway, Marseilles.
Image: Library of congress
Palace of the Grand Trianon, Versailles.
Image: Library of Congress
The Latone Basin, Versailles.
Image: Library of Congress
Grand Trianon, chamber of Empress Josephine, Versailles.
Image: Library of Congress
Grand Trianon, chamber of Queen Victoria, Versailles.
Image: Library of Congress
Gallery of Mirrors, Versailles.
Image: Library of Congress
Cauterets, Pyrenees.
Image: Library of Congress
The Hôpital Spring, Vichy.
IMage: Library of Congress
The Malavaux near Vichy.
Image: Library of Congress
The Port Militaire and swing bridge, Brest.
Image: Library of Congress
Caen.
Image: Library of Congress
The valley of Chamonix from the Aiguille du Floria.
Image: Library of Congress
Chartres.
IMAGE: Library of Congress
Dinan.
Image: Library of Congress
Dunkirk.
Image: Library of congress
The throne room, Fontainebleau Palace.
Image: Library of Congress
Rue de la Republic, Lyon.
Image: Library of Congress
Arena, Nîmes.
Image: Library of Congress
Grand Street, St. Malo.
Image: Library of Congress
Chateau de Duingt, Annecy.
Image: Library of Congress
The Pantheon and the Rue Soufflot, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
A gallery in the Louvre, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
Notre Dame, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
The Pavilions of the Nations, Exposition Universal, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
The Palace Lumineux, Exposition Universal, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
La Grande Roue, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
Eiffel Tower, Paris.
Image: Library of Congress
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