Can you believe that until the early 1970s, most photos were in black and white? It’s easy to take full color photos for granted when even your phone has an ability to snap a pic in a fraction of a second. Kids these days don’t appreciate a well-framed photo, that actually tells a story. It’s mostly a barrage of selfies, or pictures from vacations today. It also might be hard for our generation to comprehend that the world back then wasn’t all black and white. Thankfully, today’s technology and some really talented digital artists allowed us to see what was really going on in those old photos, by bringing the color back.
Take a look at these 29 colorized photos from the past. And remember, all of them were originally in black and white. Let that sink in.
1. Claude Monet in 1923.
2. Brigadier General and actor Jimmy Stewart, who flew 20 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.
3. It’s hard to believe that it’s actually Pablo Picasso.
4. Lou Gehrig, July 4, 1939. This is right after his famous retirement speech.
5. Times Square 1947.
6. The infamous Lee Harvey Oswald, 1963, who allegedly scored a head shot on President John F. Kennedy.
7. Helen Keller meeting comedian Charlie Chaplin in 1918.
8. Cool girls delivering ice, 1918.
9. Burger flipper 1938.
10. Winston Churchill, 1941.
11. Albert Einstein, 1921.
12. Madison Square Park, New York City, around 1900.
13. Marilyn Monroe.
14. Probably the last samurai training, 1860.
15. American poet Walt Whitman, 1868.
16. Hindenburg blimp crash.
17. British soldiers returning from the front, 1939.
18. Joan Crawford on the set of Letty Lynton, 1932.
19. Country store in July 1939. Gordonton, North Carolina.
20. Mark Twain in 1900.
21. Albert Einstein on a Long Island beach in 1939.
22. Who’s that? It’s Audrey Hepburn!
23. Union soldiers taking a break 1863.
24. The man who’s single-handedly pissed off billions of Christians – Charles Darwin.
25. WWII soldiers “celebrating” Easter.
26. Clint Eastwood, 1962.
27. W.H. Murphy testing the bulletproof vest on himself, 1923.
28. Charlie Chaplin at the age of 27, 1916.
29. Elizabeth Taylor in 1956.
