14 Fascinating Color Photographs of Germany in the Late 19th Century

All of these amazing color photographs of Germany were originally made by the Photochrom process, a method of transferring black and white photographic negatives to lithographic and chromographic printing stones which was popular in the early 20th century.

The Photochrom process was invented in the 1880s in Switzerland by the Zürich-based printing firm Orell Füssli. In 1888 the firm created a new company, Photochrom Zürich (later renamed to Photoglob Co.), to handle worldwide distribution of Photochrom prints.

In 1897, the Detroit Photographic Company, led by William A. Livingstone, obtained exclusive rights to print and distribute Photochrom prints in the United States. Livingstone hired the well-known photographer William Henry Jackson who brought with him thousands of his own negatives that would form the core of Detroit Photographic's Photochrom catalog. The company continued producing Photochrom prints until the early 1930s, when cheaper production methods used by other photographic companies forced the company out of business.

A girl of the Black Forest, Black Forest, Baden, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Beach and park, Colberg, Pomerania, Germany (now Kołobrzeg, Poland), ca. 1890-1900

Building sand castles, Westerland, Sylt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

General view, Ahlbeck, Pomerania, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Hotel and beach, Colberg, Pomerania, Germany (now Kołobrzeg, Poland), ca. 1890-1900

Jungfernsteig at 10 a.m., Hamburg, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Kaiser Strasse, Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Kaiserstrasse, Helgoland, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Market place, Darmstadt, the Rhine, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Potsdam Square, Berlin, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

The "New Guard" and street scene, Berlin, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

The chalets, Westerland, Sylt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

The chalets, Westerland, Sylt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, ca. 1890-1900

Victoria Hotel, Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany, ca. 1890-1900