Hand-Colored Print of a Sailor
A Personal Perspective
On a recent Saturday while away from home I had a few hours to kill so I spent the time rummaging
through antique stores looking for, as usual, old cameras and photographs.
I ran across the photograph of a sailor, shown above, in the first store I visited.
When searching through old photographs I've always ignored hand-colored prints. Frankly, I've long been
prejudiced against them. Over the years I've added hand-colored daguerreotypes and ambrotypes
to my collection but I would have chosen those images anyway, even if they had
not been colored. I felt that hand-coloring rarely improved a portrait.
The photo of the sailor caught my eye because the color seemed more natural than usual. Thinking that this would be a good example to own I bought my first hand-colored print.
In the very next store I found the print of the dancer. This print also appealed to me, but for very different reasons. I can't say the color is natural-looking, but still, the photograph held my attention. To me, the color is exuberant; it reflects the woman's joyous energy. It's a happy image and the exuberant application of color amplifies the mood.
Live and learn. It's good to see things in a new light. Since that Saturday I've collected additional hand-colored prints. I still see prints that I don't care for, but now I'm also finding ones that I like.
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Page created February 3, 2010; updated December 20, 2020
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