# Retronaut: Colour photographs of America, 1939-1943 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633 "2012-10-03T23:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/1 "2012-10-03T23:20:18Z")
“These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.” - Denver Post > **[retronaut.co - retronaut Resources and Information.](http://ww1.retronaut.co/2010/10/bound-for-glory-america-in-color-from-1939-1943/)** > > retronaut.co is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, retronaut.co has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/2 "2012-10-04T00:16:32Z")
I’ve spent many hours in Retronaut. Hours well-spent. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/3 "2012-10-04T03:02:10Z")
We have color photos of my grandparent’s 1939 wedding; Grandma’s brother-in-law was an early adopter of color photography. I’ll have to ask her what kind of camera it was. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/4 "2012-10-04T03:27:21Z")
Fantastic! Thanks for posting the link. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/5 "2012-10-04T16:20:38Z")
Ancient color photos are hard to come by. To me, color makes the subjects of the photos seem more “immediate” (for lack of a better choice of words), and easier to relate to. The little girls in the first photo look like kids I’d see at church or at Wal-Mart; they don’t look 70 years removed from me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/6 "2012-10-04T16:56:05Z")
I’ve seen two of those photographs on [Shorpy.](http://www.shorpy.com/node/93) Thanks, Lute. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/7 "2012-10-04T17:07:59Z")
Welcome to the world my father grew up in. These photos make me feel closer to him. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/8 "2012-10-04T17:56:17Z")
You mean real life wasn’t black and white in the olden days!? I love these, thanks for the link. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/9 "2012-10-04T18:19:51Z")
Is it just me or did color slide film in the forties have greater dynamic range than high end digital cameras of today? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retronaut-colour-photographs-of-america-1939-1943/636633/10 "2012-10-04T18:36:15Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Is it just me or did color slide film in the forties have greater dynamic range than high end digital cameras of today? I suspect the “Office of War Information” used the best equipment at the time, and the pictured may have been enhanced in the 21st century.