Colour Mania (Victoria and Albert Museum): Photographing the World in Autochrome

(Hardback)

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Description

Exquisite yet too fragile to exhibit, one of the world's greatest collections of autochromes - a pioneering colour photography process - is presented to a wide audience for the first time.

Offering unprecedented access to the V&A's collection of autochromes - one of the greatest collections of early colour photography in the world - Colour Mania presents this pioneering photographic process in its full, vibrant, wondrous and painterly beauty and provides a breath-taking view of the early 20th century in colour.

Autochromes are so fragile and light sensitive that they cannot be displayed in public - this book presents the only chance to see the V&A's internationally significant collection. Invented by the Lumire brothers - also pioneers of cinema - the autochrome was the first widely available colour photography process. Upon its commercial release in 1907, it was eagerly embraced by Pictorialist photographers and advocated by its leading member Alfred Stieglitz, who predicted 'soon the world will be color-mad'.

Photographed with great care for this book, the V&A's abundant collection of autochromes is brought to the public for the very first time. Organized thematically and with in-depth sections focusing on the photographers who engaged with the process, Colour Mania is built upon the latest scholarship and research by Catlin Langford and includes insights into how these extraordinary photographs are being preserved for future generations.

An opportunity to travel in time and understand a tour de force in photographic technology, Colour Mania will delight anyone who desires to experience the past in colour.

Reviews

'A rare glimpse into a photographic revolution' - Sunday Times
'This captivating title draws from the superb collection of Autochrome images held by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, and affords a rare opportunity to view these delicate images, which cannot be exhibited without damage, due to their light sensitivity. An enchanting view into a collection of images rarely seen, and a process crucial to creating our contemporary image wo' - Library Journal
'This timely book reminds the reader of the magic, wonder, and profound impact the invention of color photography had on the newly discovered medium in the form of autochromes... [Brings] to life a forgotten color movement that is often neglected due to the impossibility of exhibition. Essential' - Choice

Author Bio

Catlin Langford is a curator currently based in Naarm/Melbourne. She was the inaugural Curatorial Fellow in Photography, supported by The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.