History can be recognized by forms of music, literature, stories passed down or news outlets. There is nothing quite as powerful as a photograph however. They say a picture can say a thousand words and that hold so true for historical photographs. The main thing that is lost in historical photographs is the vibrancy, the color which holds a lot of the significance, emotion and power. These very talented editors have taken famous photographs from the past and recreated them with color. These photographs are known for stirring up emotion and provoking thought. With color added, they become more real, more alive.
1. Boy holding a stuffed toy in London, 1945.
Colorized by HansLucifer
2. Albert Einstein, Long Island, 1939.
Colorized by Edvos
3. Young boy in the Baltimore slums, 1938.
Colorized by Photojacker
4. Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Giant, 1956.
Colorized by malakon
5. Hindenburg Disaster. May 6, 1937
Colorized by Dana Keller
6. Japanese Archers, 1860.
Colorized by Photojacker
7. A view from the Capitol in Nashville Tennessee during the civil war, 1864
Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
8. Unemployed lumber worker in 1939.
Colorized by zuzahin
9. A vehicle crash in Washington D.C, 1921
Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
10. Big Jay McNeely at the Olympic Auditorium driving the crowd crazy. Los Angeles, 1953.
Colorized by zuzahin
11. Audrey Hepburn
Colorized by Danna Keller
12. The ‘Old Gold’ Country Store, 1939.
Colorized by Photojacker
13. Joseph Goebbels expression at photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt after Finding out he’s Jewish, 1933
Colorized by Photojacker
14. Nikola Tesla, 1893.
Colorized by Danna Keller
15. British Troops boarding the train for the Western Front, England, 1939.
Colorized by BenAfleckIsAnOkActor
16. Oscar II, The King of Sweden and Norway, 1880.
Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
17. Walt Whitman, 1887
Colorized by Dana Keller
18. Mark Twain, 1900.
Colorized by zuzahin
19. 27 Year Old Charlie Chaplin, 1916.
Colorized by BenAfleckIsAnOkActor
20. Women delivering ice, 1918
Colorized by Dana Keller
21. Times Square, NY, 1947.
Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd
22. President Lincoln meeting with General McClellan, 1862. This photo was used to design the penny.
Colorized by Zuzzah
23. Marilyn Monroe, 1957
Colorized by Zuzzah
24. Newsie selling the evening paper headlining the Titanic disaster, April 16, 1912
Colorized by Dana Keller
25. Easter Eggs for Hitler, 1944-1945
Colorized by Zuzzah
26. Sargent George Camblair demonstrating the gas mask, 1942
Colorized by Ryan Urban
27. Helen Keller meeting Charlie Chaplin, 1919
Colorized by Zuzahin
28. Painting propaganda posters for WWII, NY. 1942.
Colorized by Patty Allison
29. The Golden Gate bridge project, 1935
Colorized by Dana Keller
30. Louis Armstrong practicing in his dressing room, 1946.
Colorized by Dana Keller
31. Broadway Street N.Y. 1900-1915
Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
32. “The Tall Cowboy” with Senator Morris Sheppard, 1919
Colorized by Paul Edwards
33. Dancers of the National American Ballet, 1924
Colorized by Photo Retrofit
34. Albert Einstein, 1921
Colorized by Dana Keller
35. Ann Frank’s father, Otto Frank, visiting the attic they spent the war in, 1960. He was the only surviving member of the Frank family.
Colorized by Laiz Kuczynski
36. Woman with an umbrella in Louisiana, 1937
Colorized by Manuel De Leonardo
37. Prison camp at Buchenwald, April 16, 1945.
Colorized by Manuel De Leonardo
38. Peatwy Tuck of the Meskwahki People, 1898.
Colorized by Photocopshop
39. Boys buying Easter flowers in Union Square, NY. 1908.
Colorized by Dana Keller
40. Abraham Lincoln, 1865
Colorized by Zuzahin
41. Boxing match aboard the U.S.S. New York, 1899.
Colorized by Urban2487
42. Yvonne (13) and Alexander (12) Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn drink and smoke near Majorca.
Colorized by Bennity
43. An Ojibwe Native American spearfishing from a hand-made canoe in Minnesota, 1908.
Colorized by Captain_Cliche
44. Peeling onions while wearing gas masks, 1941.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
45. Captain Walter “Waddy” Young and his crew pose in front of their caricatures painted on the side of their B-29, 1944.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
46. British tattoo artist George Burchett, 1930.
Colorized by Dana Keller
47. Washington D.C. police officers show off their brand-new “Autopeds”, 1917.
Colorized by ExtraNoise
48. Singer Sarah Vaughan, 1946.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
49. Joe Lincoln, champion decoy maker. 1926.
Colorized by Dynamichrome
50. Sling cart used to remove captured artillery during the Civil War, 1865.
Colorized by Zuzahin
51. A mother helping her child off the trolley in NYC, 1913.
Colorized by mygrapefruit
52. Black man drinking from the “Colored” water cooler in Oklahoma City, 1939.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
53. John F. Kennedy on graduation day from Harvard University, 1940.
Colorized by Zuzahin
54. Times Square reporting D-Day, 1944.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
55. An observer at Iwo Jima, 1945.
Colorized by Dynamichrome
56. Children watching their neighborhood as it’s bombed in Belorussia, 1941.
Colorized by Captain-Cliche
57. Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill during the Yalta Conference, 1945.
Colorized by Zuzahin
58. Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille at the Sphinx, 1961.
Colorized by Dynamichrome
Our hat goes off to these incredibly talented artists who bring life to these already powerful photographs. Being able to match the vibrant colors so perfectly that it really brings you right into the photo is no easy task. The color really adds a new layer of emotion that you cannot deny. Somehow making the photos seem more real. It’s just simple perception but it really does make you understand the time and place that these were taken in a little better.
