Online Exhibition: Bound for Glory (America in Color)

[Honus]

I don't know how many of you have seen the online exhibit at the Library of Congress site. They are early color slides taken during the 30's and 40's by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information. I am familiar with the black and white work of Dorthea Lange and others, but was unaware of the early color work. Link below:

Online Exhibition

 

[Skinny McGee]

Great link thanks

Kodachrome i would guess

 

[ch1]

I'm so glad this got on here!

I saw the "story" on the CNN website "Gallery" but there was no direct link to post.

The short selection of pics on CNN's site certainly "whet my appetite" to see more.

The years covered 1939 to 1943 are a fascinatng "transition period" from domestic Depression to WWII.

It piqued my curiosity - when did Kodachrome first become available? Could there be some even earlier WPA-sponsored color pics of the Great Depression?

 

[Stan98103]

These photos are also available in a hardcover book - Bound for Glory : America in Color 1939-43 by Paul Hendrickson.

I've looked at this book in a local bookstore. Although the composition for many of the photo is quite nice, I find them to be much less compelling than the more well known black and white photos from this era.

Stan

 

[lubitel]

As powerful as b&w fotos can be, seeing these old scenes in color makes them so alive! Its always amazing to see color images from the times when color wasnt used that much yet.
great photos. thanks.

 

[RML]

As powerful as b&w fotos can be, seeing these old scenes in color makes them so alive! Its always amazing to see color images from the times when color wasnt used that much yet.
great photos. thanks.

I feel the same way. Whenever I think of days gone by I get visions of a black and white world, or a sepia world if I think of even earlier times. That's how much photography has shaped my vision of the past. Seeing these colour photos makes me realise once again that those days were just like ours, makes them more real for me and makes me feel more connected with that past.