One of the greatest facets of reddit are the thriving subreddits, niche communities of people who share a passion for a specific topic. One of the Sifter’s personal favourites is r/ColorizedHistory. The major contributors are a mix of professional and amateur colorizers that bring historic photos to life through color. All of them are highly skilled digital artists that use a combination of historical reference material and a natural eye for colour.
When we see old photos in black and white, we sometimes forget that life back then was experienced in the same vibrant colours that surround us today. This gallery of talented artists helps us remember that.
1. Abandoned boy holding
a stuffed toy animal. London 1945
Colorized by HansLucifer
Colorized by HansLucifer |
“I was told he had come back from playing and found his house a shambles—his mother, father and brother dead under the rubble…he was looking up at the sky, his face an expression of both confusion and defiance. The defiance made him look like a young Winston Churchill. This photograph was used by IBM to publicize a show in London. The boy grew up to become a truck driver after the war, and walking past the IBM offices, he recognized his picture.” – Toni Frissell
2. Hindenburg Disaster – May 6, 1937
3. Japanese Archers circa 1860
4. View from Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee
During the Civil War, 1864
5. Unemployed lumber worker, circa 1939
6. Auto Wreck in Washington D.C, 1921
7. Big Jay McNeely driving the crowd at the Olympic Auditorium into a frenzy, Los Angeles, 1953
Colorized by traquea on Reddit
8. Albert Einstein, Summer 1939
Nassau Point, Long Island, NY
9. Audrey Hepburn
10. ‘Old Gold’, Country store, 1939
Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd (photojacker on Reddit)
Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd (photojacker on Reddit)
11. Joseph Goebbels scowling at photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt after finding out he’s Jewish, 1933
Colorized by zuzahin on Reddit
12. Nikola Tesla, 1893
Colorized by Dana Keller
13. W.H. Murphy and his associate demonstrating their bulletproof vest on October 13, 1923
Colorized by zuzahin on Reddit
14. Young boy in Baltimore slum area, July 1938
Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd (photojacker on Reddit)
Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd (photojacker on Reddit)
15. British troops cheerfully board their train for the first stage of their trip to the western front – England, September 20, 1939
16. Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, 1880
17. Walt Whitman, 1887
18. Mark Twain in the garden, circa 1900
19. Charlie Chaplin at the age of 27, 1916
20. Elizabeth Taylor – Giant (1956 film)
Colorized by malakon on Reddit
