Niagara Falls, hand-colored photochrome view of the cataract

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Few natural wonders were turned into color postcards as early as the photochrome process made them, and this hand-colored view of the cataract shows how eagerly Niagara was pictured. Photochrome was a Swiss-developed method that printed photographs in lithographic color, with artists adding touches of hand color to sharpen the greens of the banks and the white of the falling water. Niagara Falls, on the border between New York and Ontario, drew tourists from the mid-1800s onward, and images like this one helped fix its reputation as a must-see destination. Look closely at the spray and rock ledges to see how the process captured the sheer volume of water pouring over the edge.

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