Albert Kahn The Visionary

Albert Kahn (1860-1940) was a millionaire Parisian banker and philanthropist who in 1909 launched a monumentally ambitious project:
To produce a colour photographic record of the world in the early 20th century just on the brink of being lost forever. 

He strongly believed that showing the diversity of the world and its inhabitants would promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.

He called it "The Archives of the Planet". Over 72,000 colour photographs. More than 180,000 metres of

films. Hundreds of letters, testimonies and diaries.

An internationalist and pacifist, Albert Kahn believed that he could use the new autochrome- the world's first portable, true-colour photographic process. The autochrome was invented in 1907 by the Lumiere Brothers- Pioneers of Cinema and Colour Photography.

Based on potato starch, it enabled the first user-friendly colour photography. Kahn was one of the first people to exploit the potential of colour photography.

He was definitely a man capable of amazing grace.

A colour photo of a river in Ireland.

Kahn's team of photographers documented many world cultures,

including Ireland's Celtic villages, the late days of the
Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, and the birth of new
states in Europe and the Middle East.                          

Hand painted portrait photo. I've always been fascinated by vintage cameras and the photographs they produce...                                                                                                    

(Images via NET TV Archives)