Collection: Arthur E Morton Early Colour Photograph Collection

Description

The collection comprises 188 colour photographs and black and white copies of colour photographs taken by Arthur E Morton FRPS between about 1910 and 1920. These are among the earliest colour photographs in the Historic England Archive and were produced using Autochrome and Paget processes.

The Paget colour process was a relatively short lived method for producing colour photographs in the early 20th century. Patented in 1912, it was largely abandoned in the 1920s and was generally considered to produce coloured images which were pale in comparison to autochromes, the main colour process then available. The Autochrome process, developed by Auguste and Louis Lumiere, was in use from around 1907 to the mid 1930s.

The images in the collection show primarily historic buildings and villages in Hertfordshire, Essex, Greater London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Sussex. The photographer's house and garden also feature in the collection and there are a number of still-life studies.

Born in 1866, Arthur E Morton lived at 97 Chesterfield Gardens in Harringay, London in the early 20th century. In the 1911 census he is described as a headteacher and examiner of shorthand at the City of London College.

Archival History

The collection was acquired by the Historic England Archive in 2016.

Content

Rights

Source: Historic England Archive