Figure 1.--Colorized images provide some clues as to color in the era of black-and-white photography. Of course the question arises as to the accuracy of the depictions. This American Daguerreotype was taken in the 1850s. The family was from Baltimore, Maryland. We believe the color depictions here are reasonable. Note the colorgul clothes the children wear and the parents' black outfits.

Much more information omn color becomes available in the modern era. At first the major source of information was still paintings. We think that by the 16th century we begin to get more accurate color depictions. Of course a great deal of art was commissioed by the Church or the aristocracy and other wealthy individuals. Thus we know much more about the elite than the common people. We note both plain brown clothes in the 18th century as well as very colorful clothes. This can be seen in the individual 18th century portraits we have found. The sources of information on color become much more extensive and diverse in the 19th century. The development of photography in the 19th century brought us much more detailed information on clothing than ever before. Unfortunately almost all photographs in the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century were black and white images. Interestingly this was roughly contemporary with the beginning of the Victorian era when blaxk clothing, especially for men, was very common. Colorized mostly tinted images, paintings, catalogs, and magazines provide some color images. The accuracy of color depictions varied. After World War II color photography becomes increasingly common, especially by the 1970s.

The 16th Century

Much more information omn color becomes available in the modern era. At first the major source of information was still paintings. We think that by the 16th century we begin to get more accurate color depictions. Of course a great deal of art was commissioned by the Church or the aristocracy and other wealthy individuals. Thus we know much more about the elite than the common people.

The 17th Century

The 18th Century

We note both plain brown clothes in the 18th century as well as very colorful clothes. This can be seen in the individual 18th century portraits we have found. Early skeleton suits could be very brightly colored.

The 19th Century

The sources of information on color become much more extensive and diverse in the 19th century. We note some brightly colored skeeton suits. We have little information about the color of tunics worn in the early 19th century. The development of photography in the 19th century brought us much more detailed information on clothing than ever before. Unfortunately almost all photographs in the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century were black and white images. Interestingly this was roughly contemporary with the beginning of the Victorian era when blaxk clothing, especially for men, was very common. Colorized mostly tinted images, paintings, catalogs, and magazines provide some color images. The accuracy of color depictions varied. We note some younger boys wearing bright colors. The unidentified American boy here in the 1850s wearing a blue tunic (figure 1). We note another unidentified American boy in the 1870s wearing a bright blue suit, but we are unsure about the color depiction. Certainly the developed of the chemical indusyry, especially in Germany during the late-19th century made a range of dyes available thet could be used by the clothing industry.

The 20th Century

After World War II color photography becomes increasingly common, especially by the 1970s. An English reader tells us, "The one thing which seems to be highly interesting is the introduction of brighter colours. My auntie has given me some information that suggests that the brighter colours were due to the importation of nylon from America as it could maintain stronger, brighter colours for longer than cotton. After the 1960s flower power, there seems to have been a change to the way colour was viewed and used for fashion and this may have been when the current gender specific colours of blue for boys and pink for girls became more prominant. Im still investigating this and trying to find some sources to support this." [Burnett]

Sources

Burnett, Sian-Louise. E-mail message, September 8, 2008. Burnett is a university student researching the topic.

Created: 2:47 PM 8/11/2008
Last updated: 5:48 AM 9/8/2008