TOPPER & NEWSPAPER (1844)

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The year is 1844. That’s right, we’re looking at a gent reading his morning newspaper 170 years ago. From the look in his eye, he may be a bit camera shy. Cameras were, after all, fairly new contraptions. Photography had just been introduced to America in 1839.

This is the era captured in print by Charles Dickens> His tale of Ebenezer Stooge, Jacob Barley, and Bob Scratchit had just been published the previous December. The hat resting proudly atop the gentleman’s head was known as a “stove pipe hat” or “topper”.

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE (1840)

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The year is 1840. We’re traveling back to the very beginning of photography in America. Here we find ourselves at the entrance to Independence Square in Philadelphia. First, we have the original daguerreotype photo of the scene, followed by our colorized creation. It’s a very startling experience to look back in time more than 170 years – and see everything in full color, much as it looked in the winter of 1840. We can do the same for your museum or family photos. Come visit our website today.

Christmas will sneak up on you before you know it. It isn’t too early to start looking through your family photo collection. A beautifully-colorized image of your ancestors (suitable for enlarging and framing) makes a wonderful keepsake for the entire family. This year, “Give the Christmas Present of Christmas Past!”

ICHABOD CRANE (1840)

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This happy fellow has always reminded me of Ichabod Crane, in Washington Irving’s 1820 story, “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Hudson Valley, New York legend, it tells of the superstitious schoolmaster encountering a headless horseman while riding home one evening from a party. The horseman is said to have been the ghost of a Hessian soldier whose head had been blown off by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War.

The spectre would roam the countryside looking for his head. In its place – he wore a pumpkin head. The headless horseman chased Ichabod through the woods, where it caught up to him on a bridge. Ichabod was never seen again. A smashed pumpkin marked the spot where he vanished.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the perfect spooky read on a crisp, windy, candle-lit Halloween night.

We colorize historical photos for museums, media, multimedia producers, educators . . . and for families like yours. Visit our website at: http://www.americanphotocolorizing.com
Remember: Your ancestors are counting on you!

DANDY IN A STRAW HAT (1844)

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The year is 1844. This gentleman may be posing for his very first photo portrait. Afterall, the art of photography is still in its infancy. Either way, he looks mighty snappy in his new straw hat.

MARY TODD LINCOLN (1847)

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The year is 1847. Here’s future First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, daughter of a prominent Lexington, Kentucky family. In 1839, Mary moved to Springfield, Illinois, to live with her sister, Elizabeth Porter Edwards. She became popular with the town’s eligible young men, and for a time was courted by Stephen A. Douglas. Of course, we know the suitor she chose. She and Abraham Lincoln were married on November 4, 1842.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

DAVID & ELLEN BELL (1847)

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The year is 1847. Posing for an early daguerreotype portrait are David Charles Bell, and wife, Ellen Adine Highland Bell. Now if their faces are unfamiliar to you – perhaps their name will “ring a bell” . . . . . Be that as it may, David and Ellen are the aunt and uncle of Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the “Ameche” (aka the Telephone). David, a professor, was an assistant to one of his nephew’s early voice transmission tests. In which David recited lines from “Hamlet” over the phone to Alexander, stationed at a nearby store. Not sure if David made the call collect, but that’s the story behind this wonderful 1840s photograph.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

MAN WITH A KEY (1844)

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The year is 1844. Back in the early days of portrait photography, it was fashionable to be photographed with the tools of one’s trade. A blacksmith would pose with hammer and anvil, a peddler with his carrying cases, a pharmacist perhaps with a couple of beakers and a mortar and pestle. So, here we find a man leaning on a chair with a sizable key. One can only imagine what the key unlocks. Could it be the key to the gate of a large estate? Maybe the key to his heart? For all we know, the man could be Bob Cratchit – and this is the key to the front door of Scrooge & Marley’s.

As 1840s daguerreotypes go, this image is about as crisp as you’ll find – making it a worthy candidate for colorizing. Our photo subject really springs to life in color. Little did he know, when he posed for a photographer 170 years ago – that his mug would be visible to the entire planet one day.

NEW HAMPSHIRE BARN (1841)

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The year is 1841. I came across this image of a New Hampshire farm, complete with a small barn, about 12 years ago, when I first began colorizing old photos. I don’t have any information on it, aside from it being taken in 1841 somewhere in New Hampshire. This one was a “tuffy”. So much of the photo had deteriorated and had to be reconstructed before colorizing could begin. But, all things considered, I think it turned out alright.

THE THINKING MAN (1845)

Welcome to American Photo Colorizing .com’s photo blog, “Trending History”. We colorize black & white photos for museums, media, multi-media, and families like yours. Our online Photo Gallery features 100s of colorized vintage images available for purchase.

Christmas will sneak up on you before you know it. It isn’t too early to start looking through your family photo collection. A beautifully-colorized image of your ancestors (suitable for enlarging and framing) makes a wonderful keepsake for the entire family. This year, “Give the Christmas Present of Christmas Past!”

A visit to our website gets you started: http://www.americanphotocolorizing.com

The year i.s 1845. We call him “The Thinking Man”. He just seems to be peering back silently at us. It has now been nearly 170 years since he sat for his portrait. He would be 200 years old today.

What might he have been thinking at this moment? He could not even imagine the world his descendents would live in the 21st century. After his photographic portrait was taken, we can imagine him rising from his seat, adjusting his striped necktie, and stepping into a world of horse-drawn carriages, gaslights, and people who look like they came straight out of Charles Dickens novel. After all, Dickens published “A Christmas Carol” only two years before. Seeing “The Thinking Man” in full-color magically brings the 1840s back to life, just as if they were modern times. If we can do that for a man of Charles Dickens’ times – just think what we can do with your vintage family photos. The dickens, you say!

EDGAR ALLAN POE (1849)

Welcome to American Photo Colorizing .com’s photo blog, “Trending History”. We colorize black & white photos for museums, media, multi-media, and families like yours. Our online Photo Gallery features 100s of colorized vintage images available for purchase.

Christmas will sneak up on you before you know it. It isn’t too early to start looking through your family photo collection. A beautifully-colorized image of your ancestors (suitable for enlarging and framing) makes a wonderful keepsake for the entire family.

A visit to our website gets you started: http://www.americanphotocolorizing.com

The year is 1849. It’s Day 2 of Trending History’s Adventures in Halloweenland & Other Spooky Stuff. Here’s legendary Balitimore citizen, and writer of chiller-thrillers, Edgar Allan Poe. Quoth the Raven, “Squarrrrkkk!” – which means “Silly ol’ Poe. Ravens can’t talk!” For Halloween, we’ve added a dash of color and spooky fog to Edgar, as is fitting.