This article is an introduction to the amazing "Archives of the Planet," a collection of early colour photographs taken around the world between 1912 and 1931.
The "Archives of the Planet" are generally considered to be the most important collection of early colour photographs in the world. Funded by the millionaire Albert Kahn, it features the earliest known colour pictures of Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, Benin, Brazil and Norway, among others. The photographs capture historical events and vibrant cultures made fragile by the spread of technological advances in the early twentieth century.
A Grand Project
The "Archives of the Planet" consists of 4000 stereoscopic plaques, 72 000 autochromes, and around 183 000 metres of film, comprising more than 100 hours of projection.
At the start of Kahn's project, the French inventors Auguste and Louis Lumiere had just released the autochrome. It was the first user-friendly photographic system able to take true colour pictures, making Kahn's photographs amongst the first ever taken in many places throughout the world.
The collection is a record of 48 countries, on every continent except for Oceania, shot between 1912 and 1931 by five cameramen under the supervision of the French geographer, Jean Brunhes. The aim of the archives, in Kahn's words, was "to put into effect a sort of photographic inventory of the surface of the globe as inhabited and developed by Man at the beginning of the twentieth century."
The Man Behind the Archives
Born in 1860, Kahn underwent a voluntary exile in Paris following the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. After a career as a bank employee, he profited from some risky investments in South African diamond mines and was able to start his own bank.
Between 1908 and 1930, Kahn used his fortune in support of a number of philanthropic projects, including the creation of travel scholarships for young graduates, the foundation of intellectual circles and political forums, and the funding of fourteen publications. He is also known for his extensive garden in Paris, which features foliage from around the world.
With his success, Kahn believed he could sustain the project's funding indefinitely. He did not foresee the crash of 1929, which took him from being one of the richest men in Europe to financial ruin.
An Invaluable Record of Humanity
The archives are of immense historical and anthropological value, as they document everything from the political atmosphere of World War I to fading religious and cultural practices around the world. Kahn hoped that the collection would express the shared humanity between cultures, thereby improving understanding between them and ultimately promoting peace.
A selection of Kahn's photographs can be found at the website for the BBC documentary and the accompanying book, The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: Colour Photographs from a Lost Age. From wounded World War I soldiers and their nurses to rural life in Mongolia and holy men in India, they are truly a mesmerizing experience to view.
Sources
1. BBC Books. The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: Colour Photographs from a Lost Age.
2. Castro, Teresa. Les Archives de la Planete: A Cinemtographic Atlas in "Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media."
