pre-WWI Russia in world's earliest colour photos

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Stunning 100-year-old images of pre-WWI Russia are among some of the world's earliest colour photos (including an antique selfie!)

Taken in the early 20th century by Russian chemist Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky (pictured top right in a self-portrait), these are some of the earliest colour photographs in existence, showing Russia before the First World War and the revolution of 1917 which would see the monarchy ousted and communism ushered in. Prokudin-Gorsky used a camera he designed himself to capture the same image three times, using red, green and blue filters, on to a glass plate. The plate would then be inserted into a projector which would combine the images, creating a colour photograph. While some of the images show the wealthy upper classes (left), most concentrate on field workers (centre), shopkeepers, and labourers (bottom right), showing what everyday life was like in Russia at the turn of the century.