Autochrome Group Portrait
This portrait of three French women was taken on the first commercially available full-color photographic plate, the Autochrome. The Autochrome, invented in 1903 by two brothers, August and Louis Lumière, of Lyon-Monplaiser, France was first marketed in 1907. Autochrome plates were manufactured in a wide variety of metric and English sizes to fit most contemporary glass plate cameras. Autochrome photography, a very popular means of making color photographs, was practiced until the mid-1930s.
Autochrome plates consist of sheets of glass coated with silver photographic emulsion and starch grains dyed blue, green and red. The minute starch grains act as color filters. Upon viewing the processed plate, the eye blends the matrix of colored grains into a myriad of colors. Autochrome plates created color transparencies (slides).
Autochromes are easy to distinguish from later-day color and hand-tinted black and white slides. Look at the slide through a magnifying glass. The colored grains will be apparent as they are much larger than the silver grains you would see looking at other types of images.
Hanging Autochrome Frame
I was surprised to find an Autochrome mounted in this type of frame. It appears that the frame may have been intended for hanging in a window. Excessive sunlight would eventually bleach the image.
This Autochrome is backed by a sheet of opal glass. Its purpose is to diffuse the light for better viewing. Processed Autochromes were prepared with or without a diffusion backing, depending upon the intended viewing method. Autochromes could be viewed by projection, in table-top or hand-held viewers of the type normally used for viewing black and white slides, or in viewers specially designed for Autochromes, known as diascopes.
Follow this link to view a box of Lumière Autochrome glass plates. Follow this link to see a copy of the USA patent for Autochrome plates.
This Autochrome measures 9 x 12 cm.
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Page updated March 26, 2008