Colourised Photos

[civilwarincolor]

(03-03-2013 11:24 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  How are the choices of colors determined?

That's a great question. For the most part it is done on research to try and find the item, or similar one to get the proper color. For uniforms reenactors are a great source, since the color is right and you can get an shot in normal light (not under low museum lights).

For others, such as the conspirators, a worked with the Surratt House to be in touch with people that are the most knowledgeable about their clothing. I worked with Betty for example to learn what color trench coat Powell/Payne was wearing as well as the color of his Navy uniform for the ones of him in shackles.

For a few (women is most common) the dress can be more of an educated guess. For example with Mary Surratt it was not clear what color her dress was. I first did the dress in green and showed it to the Surratt house. While there was no historical basis, one of the respondents said that they had always envisioned it in burgandy, so the color was updated out of preference, not fact.

For ones such as Michael O'Laughlen I first did his vest in a light beige with darker stripes. When I heard back from an authority referred by the Surratt house it turned out that his clothes had been described in the trial and that he was wearing a green vest with purple stripes! I never would have done those colors without historical record of it.

Likewise with Dr. Mudd, I was in contact with a descendant of his that helped with the hair coloring choice. It's all little pieces that add up to an image that looks as you would expect it.

Here is O'Laughlen showing the green/purple vest (I just realized it was not in my original post due to a limit in total images per message)