Autochromes -- the Wonderful World of Albert Kahn

[Bill_1856]

In 1909 a wealthy Frenchman, Albert Kahn, sent cameramen all around Europe to photograph with the new Autochrome process. The OVATION channel is presenting a 9-part program about them.
Autochromes really were beautiful, weren't they?
(They're also showing "The Eloquent Nude," movie about Edward and Charis Weston.)

[csant]

There is a wonderful book by the same title, collecting some samples from his collection. And if you are interested in autochromes, there is a fabulous book by Betrand Lavédrine and Jean-Paul Gandolfo titled "L'autochrome Lumiere" (French only, I am afraid…) detailing the process and including lots of very interesting documents around the history and the process, and lots of very interesting autochrome plates. It also has a whole part dedicated to other early colour processes. I very highly recommend both books.

The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn (http://www.albertkahn.co.uk/book.html), Colour Photographs from a Lost Age, by David Okuefuna. BBC Books, 2008.
L'autochrome Lumière (http://cths.fr/ed/edition.php?id=4759), Secrets d'atelier et défis industriels, by Bertrand Lavédrine and Jean-Paul Gandolfo, CTHS Publications, 2009.

[rob cruickshank]

is that Okenfuna book the same as this under another title?
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8718.htm
I just had that out from the library, and it's flat-out amazing.

[csant]

Rob, you need to end that URL in "html" to make it work - yes, judging from the table of contents it is exactly the same book. It might have some slight differences in the illustrations chosen, but it is not so much about an individual shot, as about the autochrome collection as a whole. Some photographers are more interesting than others (Léon Busy really stands out, just to name one…), but the whole collection is indeed breathtakingly beautiful…