Gallery of Leading Characters

Historical sources ranging from diaries and correspondence to newspaper accounts and government records can provide solid evidence of personal characteristics such as hair color, eye color, complexion, and other distinctive features.

When a photograph is torn, faded, or stained, the restoration process is similar to archaeology: the missing pieces are inferred from the surrounding elements.

In many cases, furnishings from the period (such as rugs, chairs, and tables, as in this photograph) have been carefully preserved in museum collections, providing examples that can inform the restoration of important background elements.

An exceptionally important early step in the process is compensating for variations in the way each photograph was taken, and in the equipment that was used. Gray values are subject to, among other things, the camera’s ability to capture them. For example, before the introduction of panchromatic film in the 20th century, orthochromatic film overexposed blues (the reason the sky in early photographs appears white or gray). At the same time, it was under-sensitive to red light, so that reds and oranges in the black and white image would appear much darker than blues and greens. Such known anomalies must all be taken into account before the process of color analysis begins.

Inferring colors and hues from black and white photographs is a mixture of art and science. Beyond the initial equation of grayscale values to color values, historical research plays a key role. Research into the fabrics, dyes, and materials used for clothing of the particular time and place can provide clues to sharpen these details in a photograph.