Jordan Lloyd of Dynamichrome has colorized an incredible series of 130 historical monochrome photos, which were meticulously selected by Retronaut website founder Wolfgang Wild.
The collaborative project is entitled, The Paper Time Machine, and the two have launched a crowdfunding campaign to have the project published.
The 300-page coffee table book will highlight 130 historical photos in chronological order, accompanied by captions from Wolfgang on why the image matters and Jordan on how the image was restored.
Our friends at Dynamic Chrome let us share a series of photos from the ambitious project that focus on famous landmarks under construction. For more information visit their crowdfunding page.
1. THE HOOVER DAM, UNITED STATES c. 1935
IMAGE: BUREAU OF RECLAMATION. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Officials ride in one of the penstock pipes of the soon-to-be-completed Hoover Dam, Arizona.
2. THE EIFFEL TOWER, PARIS JULY 1888
IMAGE: ROGER VIOLLET/GETTY. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Construction of the Eiffel Tower, Paris.
3. THE TAJ MAHAL, INDIA c. 1942
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Covered in bamboo scaffolding to disguise it from enemy bombers, the dome of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India, looks almost as if it is being built during WWII. Private First Class John C. Byrom, Jr., of Waco, Texas, trying to catch a goldfish in the marble-lined pool at the approach to the Taj Mahal. Observing are Corporal Anthony J. Scopelliti and Private First Class Ray Cherry.
4 THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, UNITED STATES c. 1934
IMAGE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / CHAS. M. HILLER. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
The Golden Gate Bridge under construction, San Francisco, California.
5. NELSON’S COLUMN, LONDON APRIL 1844
IMAGE: SSPL/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Nelson’s Column under Construction, Trafalgar Square, London. This image suggests industrious advances in the construction of the column. However, when Talbot took this photograph the building work had actually been halted while the government took over the project from the building committee whose funds had run out. Talbot invented the negative/positive process for making photographs between 1835 and 1839. Any number of prints could be made of a single image from the negative.
6. TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON c. 1889
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Tower Bridge was begun in 1881 and opened in 1894, to designs by Sir Horace Jones. It was designed so that the central section could be raised to allow the passage of ships to and from the busy wharves of London.
7. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WORKSHOP, PARIS 1882
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Workers build the Statue of Liberty inside French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s workshop in Paris. The background shows the carved arm of the statue. At the back (right) are smaller models of the arm and the head.
8. STONEHENGE, ENGLAND c. 1920
IMAGE: ENGLISH HERITAGE/HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
A view of a trilithon being re-erected during Lieutenant-Colonel Hawley’s excavations and renovations at Stonehenge in 1919 and 1920. The monument itself dates to circa 2000 B.C., although the site was in use much earlier than this.
9. MOUNT RUSHMORE, UNITED STATES MAY 31, 1932
IMAGE: LIBARY OF CONGRESS. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
Gutzon Borglum and supt. inspecting work on the face of Washington, Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota.
10. THE SACRE-COEUR, PARIS 1880s
IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES. COLOR RECONSTRUCTION BY DYNAMICHROME
The bell-tower of the Sacre Coeur Basilica under construction on the Montmartre Hill in Paris.
