A century ago, there was a race to make the first color photos. Now there’s a race to save them.

Click Here to Read: A century ago, there was a race to make the first color photos. Now there’s a race to save them. The revolutionary invention of autochromes changed photography. As those pictures decay, they’re revealing a new kind of beauty By Katy Kelleher in the National Geographic on July 21, 2025.

Early color photo of Agen, France, by Louis Ducos du Hauron, 1877. The cathedral in the scene is the Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d’Agen. Image: Louis Ducos du Hauron (1837 – 1920).  Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.