28 beautiful photochrom prints of California

[petronius]

The Library of Congress online archive is full of wonderful historic images. Recently, I stumbled onto their collection of photochrom prints.

For those who have never seen photochrom prints, they're an incredible treat. Before color printing was in wide use, photochrom was a popular method by which to create color images. The process was invented by Hans Jakob Schmid in the 1880s and involved taking lithograph tablets and coating them with a chemical mixture that would allow them to retouch the images with color tints.

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/28-beautiful-photochrom-prints-of-California-6373875.php#photo-8277926

A nice little picture collection from ~1900 or so...


A view of the UC Berkeley campus in the foreground with the bay beyond. Cal alum will recognize South Hall, which is still standing.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

1. I can remember hearing the seals on 'Seal Rock' in 1959

My family went on vacation to Alaska, and coming home we went through S.F. and I recall the Fat Lady in Playland and taking a ride along the cliff by the Cliff House and hearing the seals.

[JohnnyRingo]

2. Awesome images!

I wasn't familiar with the format. I'm sure I've seen such photos, but I didn't know they had a name. It was really fascinating to see a ship passing through the Golden Gate before there was a bridge.

Thanx for posting.