Dear friends of Beara, I just saw this and had to share it with you. --- Begin quoted text --- In May 1913, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon, two French women in their early 30s, arrived in Co. Galway, armed with heavy cameras and, more importantly the Autochrome Lumière plates, which enabled them to produce the first colour images of Ireland. Their assignment to photograph the people of Galway was part of a massive project entitled ?The Archives of the Planet? sponsored by a wealthy French banker and philanthropist called Albert Kahn. These photographs show that old Ireland was by no means as austere as traditional black and white photographs imply. As well as the brown bogs, yellowing gorse and grey skies, the two French ladies captured the people of Claddagh and Spiddal wearing costumes so colourful they would not be out of place in the Himalayas. In her journal, Mespoulet wrote: ?The young men leave for North America, the young women too and when the old die the house is abandoned and falls into ruin. There is hardly a village where one doesn't find forlorn skeletons of small grey houses invaded by nettles.? Kahn went on to lose his fortune with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, but his immense Archive amassed some 72,000 color photographs between 1909-1931, including 73 of Ireland by Mespoulet and Mignon. You can see a slide show of these early Irish photographs here at http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ The photographs, recognized as one of the finest collections in the world, now reside at the site of Kahn?s garden in the Musee Albert Kahn at 14, Rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a collection of Mespoulet's papers. As far as I can tell, there's still masses to learn from Kahn's exceptional project, so if anyone out there is seeking a new line of hobby ... --- End quoted text --- I'm going to put a link to this on the Children of Beara blog too, and perhaps I'll be able to figure out how to embed the images there. But do take a moment and look at them. The website is in French, so it's a bit hard to read if you don't read Francais, but even so, the images are beautiful. -- Bill

Beautiful photos. Thanks for the link Bill. Regards, AL Holland On Sat, Dec 8, 2012 at 10:56 AM, Bill Gawne <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear friends of Beara, > > I just saw this and had to share it with you. > > --- Begin quoted text --- > > In May 1913, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon, two French > women in their early 30s, arrived in Co. Galway, armed with heavy > cameras and, more importantly the Autochrome Lumière plates, which > enabled them to produce the first colour images of Ireland. > > Their assignment to photograph the people of Galway was part of a > massive project entitled ?The Archives of the Planet? sponsored by a > wealthy French banker and philanthropist called Albert Kahn. > > These photographs show that old Ireland was by no means as austere as > traditional black and white photographs imply. As well as the brown > bogs, yellowing gorse and grey skies, the two French ladies captured > the people of Claddagh and Spiddal wearing costumes so colourful they > would not be out of place in the Himalayas. > > In her journal, Mespoulet wrote: ?The young men leave for North > America, the young women too and when the old die the house is > abandoned and falls into ruin. There is hardly a village where one > doesn't find forlorn skeletons of small grey houses invaded by nettles.? > > Kahn went on to lose his fortune with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, > but his immense Archive amassed some 72,000 color photographs between > 1909-1931, including 73 of Ireland by Mespoulet and Mignon. > > You can see a slide show of these early Irish photographs here at > > http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ > > The photographs, recognized as one of the finest collections in the > world, now reside at the site of Kahn?s garden in the Musee Albert > Kahn at 14, Rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. > > Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a collection of > Mespoulet's papers. As far as I can tell, there's still masses to > learn from Kahn's exceptional project, so if anyone out there is > seeking a new line of hobby ... > > --- End quoted text --- > > I'm going to put a link to this on the Children of Beara blog too, and > perhaps I'll be able to figure out how to embed the images there. But > do take a moment and look at them. The website is in French, so it's > a bit hard to read if you don't read Francais, but even so, the images > are beautiful. > > -- Bill > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Thank you! the color makes the time and places come alive. Tami Gilbert On Dec 8, 2012, at 9:59 AM, "Bill Gawne" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear friends of Beara, > > I just saw this and had to share it with you. > > --- Begin quoted text --- > > In May 1913, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon, two French > women in their early 30s, arrived in Co. Galway, armed with heavy > cameras and, more importantly the Autochrome Lumière plates, which > enabled them to produce the first colour images of Ireland. > > Their assignment to photograph the people of Galway was part of a > massive project entitled ?The Archives of the Planet? sponsored by a > wealthy French banker and philanthropist called Albert Kahn. > > These photographs show that old Ireland was by no means as austere as > traditional black and white photographs imply. As well as the brown > bogs, yellowing gorse and grey skies, the two French ladies captured > the people of Claddagh and Spiddal wearing costumes so colourful they > would not be out of place in the Himalayas. > > In her journal, Mespoulet wrote: ?The young men leave for North > America, the young women too and when the old die the house is > abandoned and falls into ruin. There is hardly a village where one > doesn't find forlorn skeletons of small grey houses invaded by nettles.? > > Kahn went on to lose his fortune with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, > but his immense Archive amassed some 72,000 color photographs between > 1909-1931, including 73 of Ireland by Mespoulet and Mignon. > > You can see a slide show of these early Irish photographs here at > http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ > > The photographs, recognized as one of the finest collections in the > world, now reside at the site of Kahn?s garden in the Musee Albert > Kahn at 14, Rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. > > Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a collection of > Mespoulet's papers. As far as I can tell, there's still masses to > learn from Kahn's exceptional project, so if anyone out there is > seeking a new line of hobby ... > > --- End quoted text --- > > I'm going to put a link to this on the Children of Beara blog too, and > perhaps I'll be able to figure out how to embed the images there. But > do take a moment and look at them. The website is in French, so it's > a bit hard to read if you don't read Francais, but even so, the images > are beautiful. > > -- Bill > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Fantastic photos Bill, but did you notice that even though the women were all dressed up in their finery not a one of them had any shoes on !! Such was the world then. I've just noticed it's only 6 months off of 100 years ago !! Ann ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Gawne" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2012 5:56 PM Subject: [BEARA] Beautiful color images of Ireland from 1913 Dear friends of Beara, I just saw this and had to share it with you. --- Begin quoted text --- In May 1913, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon, two French women in their early 30s, arrived in Co. Galway, armed with heavy cameras and, more importantly the Autochrome Lumière plates, which enabled them to produce the first colour images of Ireland. Their assignment to photograph the people of Galway was part of a massive project entitled ?The Archives of the Planet? sponsored by a wealthy French banker and philanthropist called Albert Kahn. These photographs show that old Ireland was by no means as austere as traditional black and white photographs imply. As well as the brown bogs, yellowing gorse and grey skies, the two French ladies captured the people of Claddagh and Spiddal wearing costumes so colourful they would not be out of place in the Himalayas. In her journal, Mespoulet wrote: ?The young men leave for North America, the young women too and when the old die the house is abandoned and falls into ruin. There is hardly a village where one doesn't find forlorn skeletons of small grey houses invaded by nettles.? Kahn went on to lose his fortune with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, but his immense Archive amassed some 72,000 color photographs between 1909-1931, including 73 of Ireland by Mespoulet and Mignon. You can see a slide show of these early Irish photographs here at http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ The photographs, recognized as one of the finest collections in the world, now reside at the site of Kahn?s garden in the Musee Albert Kahn at 14, Rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a collection of Mespoulet's papers. As far as I can tell, there's still masses to learn from Kahn's exceptional project, so if anyone out there is seeking a new line of hobby ... --- End quoted text --- I'm going to put a link to this on the Children of Beara blog too, and perhaps I'll be able to figure out how to embed the images there. But do take a moment and look at them. The website is in French, so it's a bit hard to read if you don't read Francais, but even so, the images are beautiful. -- Bill ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Ann, all, I did notice the bare feet. Couldn't help but think my grandmother may have looked just like that when she was a young girl in Castletownbere, before she left for America in 1912. Bill Ann Chilton <[email protected]> writes: > Fantastic photos Bill, but did you notice that even though the women were > all dressed up in their finery not a one of them had any shoes on !! Such > was the world then. I've just noticed it's only 6 months off of 100 years > ago !! > > Ann

Bill, I am on the site, but can no find the color images of Ireland. Thanks for your help. Lorri ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Gawne" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2012 1:49 Subject: Re: [BEARA] Beautiful color images of Ireland from 1913 > Hi Ann, all, > > I did notice the bare feet. Couldn't help but think my grandmother > may have looked just like that when she was a young girl in > Castletownbere, before she left for America in 1912. > > Bill > > Ann Chilton <[email protected]> writes: > >> Fantastic photos Bill, but did you notice that even though the women were >> all dressed up in their finery not a one of them had any shoes on !! >> Such >> was the world then. I've just noticed it's only 6 months off of 100 >> years >> ago !! >> >> Ann > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Lorri, (and all here), Lorri, are you at the French language site? Or my "Beara's Children" blog? In any case, to see the images, go to http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page, just where it says, "Dublin (en 2007 et 2008) et à Buchelay (Yvelines) en octobre 2009." Right after that is the slideshow of multiple images taken by the two French women when they visited Ireland. I think the slideshow is done using Flash. If you can't see it, you can look at the autochrome images here: http://www.luminous-lint.com/s01/vexhibit/_THEME_Autochromes_Women_01/6/13/06753977806100967959550208/ Bill Lorri <[email protected]> writes: > Bill, I am on the site, but can no find the color images of Ireland. Thanks > for your help. > Lorri

Hi Bill, I got the email below; but when I go to the article I can't see the photos.  After the paragragh there is the word   photo (it's grey in color) and I click that word and nothing happens.  What am I doing wrong? Thank you for your time. Joan Fitch >________________________________ >From: Bill Gawne <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Sent: Saturday, December 8, 2012 12:56 PM >Subject: [BEARA] Beautiful color images of Ireland from 1913 > >Dear friends of Beara, > >I just saw this and had to share it with you. > >--- Begin quoted text --- > >In May 1913, Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon, two French  >women in their early 30s, arrived in Co. Galway, armed with heavy  >cameras and, more importantly the Autochrome Lumière plates, which  >enabled them to produce the first colour images of Ireland. > >Their assignment to photograph the people of Galway was part of a  >massive project entitled ?The Archives of the Planet? sponsored by a  >wealthy French banker and philanthropist called Albert Kahn. > >These photographs show that old Ireland was by no means as austere as  >traditional black and white photographs imply. As well as the brown  >bogs, yellowing gorse and grey skies, the two French ladies captured  >the people of Claddagh and Spiddal wearing costumes so colourful they  >would not be out of place in the Himalayas. > >In her journal, Mespoulet wrote: ?The young men leave for North  >America, the young women too and when the old die the house is  >abandoned and falls into ruin. There is hardly a village where one  >doesn't find forlorn skeletons of small grey houses invaded by nettles.? > >Kahn went on to lose his fortune with the Wall Street Crash of 1929,  >but his immense Archive amassed some 72,000 color photographs between  >1909-1931, including 73 of Ireland by Mespoulet and Mignon. > >You can see a slide show of these early Irish photographs here at  >http://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.net/archives-de-la-planete/mappemonde/europe/irlande/ > >The photographs, recognized as one of the finest collections in the  >world, now reside at the site of Kahn?s garden in the Musee Albert  >Kahn at 14, Rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. > >Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a collection of  >Mespoulet's papers. As far as I can tell, there's still masses to  >learn from Kahn's exceptional project, so if anyone out there is  >seeking a new line of hobby ... > >--- End quoted text --- > >I'm going to put a link to this on the Children of Beara blog too, and  >perhaps I'll be able to figure out how to embed the images there.  But  >do take a moment and look at them.  The website is in French, so it's  >a bit hard to read if you don't read Francais, but even so, the images  >are beautiful. > >-- Bill > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >