Autochrome Transparency
Pueblo structure at Walpi, first mesa, with people on the roof at one level. The main part of the building is stone masonry with adobe mortar and plastered wall, however, the upper portion has not been plastered, leaving a stacked-rock surface. There is a wooden ladder propped against the wall at a portal, then built-in stone steps for access to the upper levels. Vigas extend out from the walls in several spots and several wooden doors and windows are visible throughout. One window has a woven yucca mat inserted in the frame, serving as a sun shade or blind.
- Object: Autochrome Transparency
- Artist: George Holt
- Circa: Early to mid 1920s
- Dimensions: 3 1/4" x 4"
- Culture Area: Southwest
- Cultural Group: Hopi (Walpi)
- Cultural Context: The autochrome transparencies in the Flegal collection were taken by George Holt, the donor's father. He was a chaplain for the baptist church and travelled all over the world visiting missionaries and subsequenthy photographing neophytes in various locales. The autochrome process was the first commercially successful color application of photography which enabled photographers like Holt to get high quality color photos of their subjects. However, the burden of carrying numerous unexposed glass plates to remote locations often proved cumbersome, at best. As a sidebar, the historic significance of autochrome is worth noting. As mentioned earlier, autochromes were "the first viable color photographic process." The process was patented in 1907 by Auguste and Louis Lumiere of France. "The autochrome 'screen' was created by forming a layer of minute starch grains dyed in the primary colors (red, blue, green) ..." which was over lain with a layer of lampblack (filling the space between the grains) then a layer of shellack. "So when exposed, the light traversed the glass through the grain and exposed the light/color sensitive emulsion from the back. After exposure (using a view camera on a tripod) the plate was processed to reverse in an acid dichromate-type process."
- Donor: Mrs. Carl Flegal
- Catalog #: 97.057