15 Historical Photos That Were Transformed With a Touch of Color

gable1939 Published 08/19/2023 in Pop Culture

Ever since the invention of the camera we humans have been taking photographs of just about any and everything. Our friends, families, pets, wild animals, landscapes, cityscapes, ourselves, and of course celebrities and famous people.

It wasn't until 1861 that James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton demonstrated Maxwell's invention, color photography as we know it today. It required taking a photograph 3 times, once with a red, green, and blue filter, then combining the images to produce the colored effect. Since then, the rest is history.

So take a walk down memory lane with a virtual tour of the past and enjoy these photographs were originally taken in black and white, but come to life when they get a touch of color.

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1.
Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield
2.
3.
African Americans collect the remains of soldiers killed in battle near Cold Harbor, Virginia
4.
5.
Marilyn Monroe's USO performance, February 1954
6.
7.
Pablo Picasso with Gary Cooper's handgun
8.
9.
Samurai, 1881
10.
Audrey Hepburn, 1953
11.
12.
Ever since the invention of the camera (Invented in 1816 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce) we humans have been taking photographs of just about any and everything. Our friends, families, pets, wild animals, landscapes, cityscapes, ourselves, and of course celebrities and famous people.

It was until 1861 that James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton demonstrated Maxwell's invention, color photography as we know it today. It required taking a photograph 3 times, once with a red, green, and blue filter, then combining the images to produce the colored effect. Since then, the rest is history.

So take a walk down memory lane with a virtual tour of the past and enjoy these photographs were originally taken in black and white, but come to life when they get a touch of color.
13.
Claude Monet and his waterlilies
14.
15.
Picnickers at a Sarasota trailer park
16.
17.
Marilyn Monroe
18.
19.
Coney Island, New York, 1905
20.
21.
Johnny Cash
22.
23.
Manhattan at sunset from the George Washington Bridge, December 1936
24.
25.
Young kid on the Streets of New York,1954
26.
27.
A handsome hansom cab, NYC, 1900
28.
29.
Paulette Goddard-actress wife of Charlie Chaplin
30.
31.
Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth
32.
Armed troops block off a road near an explosion at an oil factory, Texas. April 17, 1947
33.
34.
Sharon Tate, a few years before her tragic death
35.
36.
WWI Red Cross driver -1917 Harris and Ewing Collection
37.
38.
Audrey Hepburn
39.
40.
Young Robin Williams as a mime in Central Park, 1974

1.
Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield
2.
3.
African Americans collect the remains of soldiers killed in battle near Cold Harbor, Virginia
4.
5.
Marilyn Monroe's USO performance, February 1954
6.
7.
Pablo Picasso with Gary Cooper's handgun
8.
9.
Samurai, 1881
10.
Audrey Hepburn, 1953
11.
12.
Ever since the invention of the camera (Invented in 1816 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce) we humans have been taking photographs of just about any and everything. Our friends, families, pets, wild animals, landscapes, cityscapes, ourselves, and of course celebrities and famous people.

It was until 1861 that James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton demonstrated Maxwell's invention, color photography as we know it today. It required taking a photograph 3 times, once with a red, green, and blue filter, then combining the images to produce the colored effect. Since then, the rest is history.

So take a walk down memory lane with a virtual tour of the past and enjoy these photographs were originally taken in black and white, but come to life when they get a touch of color.
13.
Claude Monet and his waterlilies
14.
15.
Picnickers at a Sarasota trailer park
16.
17.
Marilyn Monroe
18.
19.
Coney Island, New York, 1905
20.
21.
Johnny Cash
22.
23.
Manhattan at sunset from the George Washington Bridge, December 1936
24.
25.
Young kid on the Streets of New York,1954
26.
27.
A handsome hansom cab, NYC, 1900
28.
29.
Paulette Goddard-actress wife of Charlie Chaplin
30.
31.
Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth
32.
Armed troops block off a road near an explosion at an oil factory, Texas. April 17, 1947
33.
34.
Sharon Tate, a few years before her tragic death
35.
36.
WWI Red Cross driver -1917 Harris and Ewing Collection
37.
38.
Audrey Hepburn
39.
40.
Young Robin Williams as a mime in Central Park, 1974