The Big Foto

After our previous trip in the past Photochroms of Norway from 1890s to 1900s, today we are going to travel to the last years of 19th century in Scotland thank you to the Library of the US Congress (LOC).

The Photochrom Print Collection has almost 6,000 views of Europe and the Middle East and 500 views of North America, but only a 5% has been uploaded to flickr. Published primarily from the 1890s to 1910s, these prints were created by the Photoglob Company in Zürich, Switzerland, and the Detroit Publishing Company in Michigan. The richly colored images look like photographs but are actually ink-based photolithographs, usually 6.5 x 9 inches.

Like postcards, the photochroms feature subjects that appeal to travelers, including landscapes, architecture, street scenes, and daily life and culture. The prints were sold as souvenirs and often collected in albums or framed for display.

The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division assembled this collection from two sources that provided prints in mint condition. In 1985, the prints of Europe and the Middle East were purchased from the Galerie Muriset in Switzerland. In 2004, Howard L. Gottlieb generously donated the North American views.