The special value of these 1920s pictures is that they are real color shots, not colorized. The photographers of the National Geographic Society used the autochrome process to obtain America’s color photographs at the beginning of the 20th century. The color multilayer photographic film “Kodachrome” appeared a bit later, in 1935. This invention vastly expanded the possibilities of color printing.
Nonetheless, the Society accumulated a collection of autochrome color pictures from the 1910s and 1920s with around 12,000 images.
In July 1914, National Geographic magazine published its first color photographs. They showcased the power of autochrome and changed the style of the magazine cover.
Pictures from all over America of the 1920s
Another value of this set is its wide geography. Oldpics used to publish some bright 1920s (as well as other periods’ photographs) pictures of the large cities, like New York, which attracted many outstanding photographers. This photo set is different. There’re plenty of countryside photographs which are relatively rare finds. But those NYC-photography lovers shouldn’t worry either. Some special color shots of the Greatest city in the world are in this publication too.
This series covers different aspects of American life, culture, and magnificent landscapes. These 1920s pictures look closer to the 19th-century landscape photography of Carleton Watkins and American settler’s Solomon Butcher series. Again, these are color ones, and thus they keep some exceptional details of the early 20th-century lifestyle.
Idealized American lifestyle of the 1950s by Nina Leen
Virginia – A girl poses with corncobs and pumpkins during the harvest, Virginia. Photo by Charles Martin.
A woman with a teenager washes on the street in Sperryville. Photo by Charles Martin
A Hopi Indian on his donkey stands on the edge of a high mountain. Photo by Franklin Price Knott
Mount Shasta in California and a woman at the edge of a pond. Photo by Franklin Price Knott
Portrait of a Hopi Indian woman weaving a basket. Photo by Franklin Price Knott
Two men stand among white birches in the Battenkill Valley, Bennington, Vermont. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
A rider poses with her pony in a rodeo in Texas. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
Amazing view of the Capitol. Photo by Charles Martin
Vacationers by a running river on a warm summer day. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
Two women look west from Stowe’s village towards Mount Mansfield, Vermont Photo by Clifton R. Adams.
Indian family in their dwelling, tipi. Montana. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
The story of American way photo by Margarett Bourke-White
Three men stand in front of a plane on the Crowe Reservation in Montana. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Washington, DC. A group of children looks at an elephant at the National Zoo. Photo by Jacob J. Guyer
Washington DC. A woman in front of a fruit rack in the US capital. Photo by Orren R. Lowden
St. Petersburg, Florida. Women sit on the beach. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
Portrait of a boy in New Orleans. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
View of the Hudson River in New York. Photo Credi Clifton R. Adams and Edwin L. Visherd
A group of people relaxing on the ocean coast, Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Clifton R. Adams.
Swimming competition in Florida
The sixty-story Woolworth Building rises on the New York skyline. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
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New Yorkers browse the assortment of goods sold along city streets. Photo by Clifton R. Adams and Edwin L. Visherd.
Aerial photography of Manhattan. Photo by Clifton R. Adams and Edwin L. Visherd
People in the cotton field in Louisiana. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Atlantic City, New Jersey. A coastal patrol pushes a boat into the water. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
Five boys eat watermelon in New Orlean. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. Kids outside a house with a turf roof. Photo by Richard Hewitt Stewart
At the fair in Lyndonville, Ohio. Photo by Jacob J. Guyer
Apple stands at the Lyndonville fair, Ohio Photo by Jacob J. Guyer.
A group of students on the terrace at Cornell University. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
Washington Square and Fifth Avenue. Photo by Clifton R. Adams and Edwin L. Visherd
French Quarter, New Orlean. Photo by- Edwin L. Visherd
Praline saleswoman in the French Quarter. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Children gather around a snowball vendor, New Orlean. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
A woman sitting on stone steps in the French Quarter sells pralines. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
A boy sits on a barrel outside a brewery in the French Quarter, New Orlean. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Washington Square in New York. Photo by Clifton R. Adams and Edwin L. Visherd
Hopi Indian Reservation – Men stand next to a car in a field and look at a nearby canyon.
A rider shows her sister how to handle ropes, Fort Worth, Texas.
A view of the main street in the downtown area of Columbus, Ohio. Photo by Jacob J. Guyer
Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1920s. Panoramic views of beaches, marinas, and hotels along the waterfront. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
A ranch where guests can feel like cowboys in Arizona. Photo by Clifton R. Adams
A woman sits outside the door of the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. Photo by Edwin L. Visherd
Four tour guides await tourists for a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, PA.
Coast Guard officers set sail in their boat. Photo by Jacob J. Guyer
Cowboys and horseback riders sit along a fence at a rodeo, San Antonio, Texas.
Men load bins with sulfur, Galveston, TX.
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A man shovels sulfur in a warehouse near the pier, Galveston, Texas.
Three young women at the rodeo, Fort Worth, Texas.
Crow Indian Reservation, Montana – Men stand next to the monument to the Seventh Cavalry.
Head of the Crowe Indian Reservation, Montana