Colorized Photos of Lincoln

[Jim Page]

(11-24-2012 09:58 PM)L Verge Wrote:  If you would like to contact him, I'll give you his e-mail address.

Hi, Laurie--

I'd love to be in contact with Mr. Richardson. I'll email you privately for his info.

Thanks as always--

--Jim

[Donna McCreary]

(11-24-2012 08:42 PM)Mark MacKenzie Wrote:  There is a recent magazine special on Lincoln. I thought it was Time Life but I think I am mistaken. Anyway, there is a photo of Mary in a dress that looks black with a pattern of strawberries. Then there is a photo beside of the actual dress in the Smithsonian. It is a beautiful dark blue with the strawberry patterns. I guess it is an Elizabeth Keckley dress.

I will look up what magazine it was. I lent it to a friend.

Daguerreotypes were frequently tinted. I wonder when the tinting fad became popular. Wallace Nutting made a fortune off of it in the early 1900's.

The "strawberry dress" is located at the ALPL in Springfield. For detailed information, you can check pages 59 - 61 of Fashionable First Lady: The Victorian Wardrobe of Mary Lincoln. Most likely it was made by Keckly, but we can not be sure. What makes this dress outstanding are the beautifully embroidered red berries and green and purple leaves on the black silk fabric. I studied this dress in detail several years ago. It is one of the few dresses of Mary's that still exist.

[Mark MacKenzie]

I thought it fascinating to see that dress with its remarkable deep color side by side with the black and white photo of Mary wearing the identical dress. Thank you for the detail; I need to go to Springfield.

[Jim Page]

Thanks to Laurie Verge, I've been able to contact and enter into a discussion with David Richardson about coloring images of the Civil War era. Mr. Richardson has the Civil War in Color, History in Full Color, and Civil War in 3D web sites.

As you may recall from a week or so ago, we were wondering if the process used in making these color images was different than the process of adding color, based on a best guess, in Photoshop or if there was a different process that "knew" what the actual colors were supposed to be. My contention was that there was no color info in the images themselves; it was all greyscale info.

Here is Mr. Richardson's very gracious and informative reply to my initial email to him; we've had further emails, a phone call, and plan to get together by phone more today:
-----------------------------------------------
Regarding the process. As you suspect, there is no color information embedded in the images. I have however read that it is possible to determine the colors if you know any two of the grayscale values of an image. Since the colors of things like Uniforms, brass buttons, grass, wood, etc. is known, it might be possible with these images. There are computer programs that are supposed to have the ability to interpret the corresponding colors based on the value of the known grayscales. I have not tried it, but the results that I did see looked at best faded and washed out. Who knows, in time it may be completely automated.

The process that I use involves using layers in Photoshop and applying the appropriate color in the right places. This is similar to looking through a tinted or stained glass window and seeing an area in color based on the glass. Once the color layer is applied then the mode setting is changed from “Normal” to “Color” or “Overlay” and the result is a convincing color image.
-----------------------------------------------

Mr. Richardson is a great person; he knows his onions as the saying goes, and I'm enjoying our very cordial conversations! He did the color J.W. Booth image shown in another post and he has a TON of other super work on his websites:
http://www.civilwarincolor.com/
http://www.civilwarin3d.com/
http://www.historyinfullcolor.com/

Now I need to get into contact with Dr. James Cornelius of the Color of Lincoln website to see how he does what he does.

Thanks, Laurie!

--Jim

[L Verge]

Roger has Dr. Cornelius's contact info, I believe. He's a curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

[Mark MacKenzie]

I have always admired hand tinted black and white prints and tried my hand at a few. Marshall's oils were expensive but preferred by most. Food coloring has been used. Now a popular medium is called Pan Pastels. Used to be only fiber based matte prints were used and I mean modern silver prints. Now people are using these tints on a variety of ink jet papers. (No need for a darkroom.)

And you can use Photoshop... (I like old school.)

[RJNorton]

(12-02-2012 12:50 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Roger has Dr. Cornelius's contact info, I believe. He's a curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Jim, I will send you James Cornelius' email address.

[Jim Page]

(12-02-2012 05:30 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(12-02-2012 12:50 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Roger has Dr. Cornelius's contact info, I believe. He's a curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Jim, I will send you James Cornelius' email address.

Thanks, Roger!

--Jim

---

(12-02-2012 05:23 PM)Mark MacKenzie Wrote:  I have always admired hand tinted black and white prints and tried my hand at a few. Marshall's oils were expensive but preferred by most. Food coloring has been used. Now a popular medium is called Pan Pastels. Used to be only fiber based matte prints were used and I mean modern silver prints. Now people are using these tints on a variety of ink jet papers. (No need for a darkroom.)

And you can use Photoshop... (I like old school.)

Mark, I also admire the hand-tinted prints; they are so subtle. An art form in itself; I'm glad folks are still doing it.

I used to admire the hand-tinted military service photos my granny had hanging in her den. I'm sure they meant a lot to the families who received them.

--Jim

[Donna McCreary]

(12-02-2012 12:10 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Thanks to Laurie Verge, I've been able to contact and enter into a discussion with David Richardson about coloring images of the Civil War era. Mr. Richardson has the Civil War in Color, History in Full Color, and Civil War in 3D web sites.

As you may recall from a week or so ago, we were wondering if the process used in making these color images was different than the process of adding color, based on a best guess, in Photoshop or if there was a different process that "knew" what the actual colors were supposed to be. My contention was that there was no color info in the images themselves; it was all greyscale info.

Here is Mr. Richardson's very gracious and informative reply to my initial email to him; we've had further emails, a phone call, and plan to get together by phone more today:
-----------------------------------------------
Regarding the process. As you suspect, there is no color information embedded in the images. I have however read that it is possible to determine the colors if you know any two of the grayscale values of an image. Since the colors of things like Uniforms, brass buttons, grass, wood, etc. is known, it might be possible with these images. There are computer programs that are supposed to have the ability to interpret the corresponding colors based on the value of the known grayscales. I have not tried it, but the results that I did see looked at best faded and washed out. Who knows, in time it may be completely automated.

The process that I use involves using layers in Photoshop and applying the appropriate color in the right places. This is similar to looking through a tinted or stained glass window and seeing an area in color based on the glass. Once the color layer is applied then the mode setting is changed from “Normal” to “Color” or “Overlay” and the result is a convincing color image.
-----------------------------------------------

Mr. Richardson is a great person; he knows his onions as the saying goes, and I'm enjoying our very cordial conversations! He did the color J.W. Booth image shown in another post and he has a TON of other super work on his websites:
http://www.civilwarincolor.com/
http://www.civilwarin3d.com/
http://www.historyinfullcolor.com/

Now I need to get into contact with Dr. James Cornelius of the Color of Lincoln website to see how he does what he does.

Thanks, Laurie!

--Jim

Dr. Cornelius is the person who first told me about a colorization process for Lincoln's images. Please share any information you can. I have forgotten the details he shared about the process.

[Jim Page]

Hi, Donna--

I had a brief email exchange with Dr. Cornelius the other day; he described his own contribution to the Color of Lincoln effort in this way:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am no technician; just a historian, librarian, and writer. C. Bryan Eaton published a 134-page book of all AL photos that he had colorized a few years ago.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evidently the process Mr. Eaton used or uses is basically the same as used by others; the quality of his colorized images is excellent and this may be a result of his thorough research and whatever artistic judgement and expertise he brings to the work.

I plan to email him for specifics soon, but the technology he uses is likely no different than that used by others.

Best regards--

--Jim

[Donna McCreary]

(12-05-2012 03:25 AM)Jim Page Wrote:  Hi, Donna--

I had a brief email exchange with Dr. Cornelius the other day; he described his own contribution to the Color of Lincoln effort in this way:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am no technician; just a historian, librarian, and writer. C. Bryan Eaton published a 134-page book of all AL photos that he had colorized a few years ago.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evidently the process Mr. Eaton used or uses is basically the same as used by others; the quality of his colorized images is excellent and this may be a result of his thorough research and whatever artistic judgement and expertise he brings to the work.

I plan to email him for specifics soon, but the technology he uses is likely no different than that used by others.

Best regards--

--Jim

Thanks for the updated information Jim.

[Jim Page]

(12-05-2012 11:36 AM)Donna McCreary Wrote:  Thanks for the updated information Jim.

Donna, you are most welcome. UPS just dropped off David Richardson's book, Restoring and Tinting Vintage Images, it looks super interesting.

I wish some of the folks I used to know at Kodak's restoration studio in Rochester could see what is being done with computers these days; it would blow their minds!

--Jim

[Gene C]

From Calvin and Hobbes - Calvin's father explains old black and white photographs


http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/09/19

[L Verge]

I like Hobbes's attitude on life. I'm going to try that.

[Jim Page]

Gene, you are a stitch. There just ain't no other word for you.

--Jim