Color Photos from the 1950's

A Collection of Colored Photos from the 1950's from CNN.


I love these photos, because first off, it seems so rare to see colored photographs from before about the 1960's and 1970's.

For whatever reason, I feel compelled to post some of my favorites here.

To the left, this one is one of my favorites in the first set, merely because it is probably the first one that is very obviously from the 1950's. For me, these kinds of dresses on women that young are very rare to see in this day and age. Nowadays, such attire would probably be questioned - "You look nice, where are you going?" Not that these three people weren't already going somewhere nice - it is likely, particularly since the man is also gussied up in a suit and tie.

More amazing, though, is the sheer quality of the photo. There's absolutely no grain, very few strange, out of place colors, etc. It almost appears staged in a way, as if somebody dressed these people up, tracked down a vintage restored car, and ordered these people to stand and pretend they lived 50-60 years ago.

The photo to the left, on the other hand, shows a girl (teenaged girl?) celebrating her birthday. Or, at least, we assume it is her birthday, since she is the one sitting in front of the cake. I love this photo, because this scene is one that is probably a familiar image from many of our childhoods, and yet, based on the style of the hutch in the background, you kind of get the feeling that the girl is celebrating her birthday in her grandmother's house. At least, that was my first thought. However, I think that, when you think about it, it is momentarily amazing that birthdays obviously have not changed much in the past 50-60 years.

I'll admit it, this photo (left) I like mostly because of the woman standing second to the right. Either she is very unhappy to be at this outdoor buffet/party, or she completely missed the instructions to "Smile for the camera!" Other than that, I mostly love seeing all of these women wearing dresses, since such a sight in these times is so rare to see.