Collection: Photochrom Postcards

Photochrom postcards and prints were photographic negatives that were then transferred onto litho and chromographic printing plates, or literally stone blocks. The technique was invented in the 1880's by Hans Jakob Schmid. At a casual glance, Photochrom prints look like an ordinary (old) color photograph. In fact, they predate true color photography by decades, being much more like hand colorized photos. Each color in a final Photochrom required a separate lithographic stone. Each print had usually a minimum of six stones, and sometimes eleven or more! The photomechanical process allowed for brightly toned color prints to be mass produced for the first time. The collection craze for Photochrom travel postcards ended after World War One, though the process continued to be used for posters and reproduction art for years.