Who Were They?

This is the last of the hand tinted photos I have. They were all together, so perhaps they were owned by the same person who enjoyed tinting their photos. These two girls are wearing clothing that is distinctly 1920s-1930s. Each has a sash that was tinted. The older girl on the left is wearing gorgeous shoes, and is holding something that is connected to her sash at the waist. The younger girl is holding something in her hand, in between the two girls. They are pretty girls.

The art of hand tinted photos was introduced along side the daguerreotype in 1839. In the 19th century it was most common for the professional photographer to tint the photograph or tintype just after printing. Later photo artists introduced new techniques using oil, watercolor and other types of paint to achieve the desired result. As it turns out, hand tinted photography became quite an artform in Japan in the latter half of the 19th century, with some artists achieving worldwide renown. With the Great Depression, the sale of professional hand tinted photographs declined, but the home artist continued to have access to hand tinting kits. There is a very informative wiki article here which provided me with the brief details I have shared with you.

I find some happiness knowing that I have saved these hand tinted Japanese photographs from complete obscurity.