I only briefly glanced at these (I’ll check 'em out on a modern computer when I get home) but how on Earth do pictures from that long ago look so sharp? Have they been enhanced?
Read the info at the Library Of Congress link.
It’s quite involved and calling them ‘enhanced’ is almost insulting, considering the technique that was used 100 years ago, the custom camera the photographer created, the technique he more-or-less created and the projector he used back in the day to show them in color… and how the modern digitization keeps with the spirit of what the photographer intended.
I find it interesting that nearly every person has some kind of headwear.
Most, if not all of these photos appear in the 1980 book, “Photographs for the Tsar”. I remember purchasing several as gifts but sadly, I did not get a copy for myself.
If you are interested, the book can still be had from the Amazon used market.
The first reviewer on that Amazon page eloquently makes the same point raised in this thread too:
One of the best things about the Internet is how it keeps alive bits of history and culture that have been long forgotten and this is a great example.