AnniversaryHistory & PoliticsPersonalitiesHuman ActivityPhotography

Bring history to life in colour with akg-images

Discover our colourisations and colourisation service

6 June 2022

Colour has always been a part of our world and our storytelling. Until the 1940s, colour film was quite rare and very expensive, so our historical photos were taken in black and white. ​ Given the choice, would we rather see these moments in time as the witnesses did, in colour?

AKG8727510 Team of female US Air Force pilots learning to fly a B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber at Lockbourne Army Base, Ohio
AKG8727510 Team of female US Air Force pilots learning to fly a B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber at Lockbourne Army Base, Ohio

With this in mind, akg-images launched an exclusive colourisation service for archive photos. With significant added value: the historical relevance of colours (colours of uniforms and civilian costumes, colours of vehicles, paintwork of aircraft) and increased work on the rendering of colours of the time. Our colourists are also historians.

AKG7771535 Prisonniers du camp d'Auschwitz en liesse après leur libération par l'Armée Rouge, le 21 janvier 1945AKG7771535 Prisonniers du camp d'Auschwitz en liesse après leur libération par l'Armée Rouge, le 21 janvier 1945AKG9019155 Nikolaï Bersarine (avec cigarette) et l'auteur Vsevolov Wischnevski (à gauche) à Berlin le jour de la capitulation de Berlin en 1945AKG9019155 Nikolaï Bersarine (avec cigarette) et l'auteur Vsevolov Wischnevski (à gauche) à Berlin le jour de la capitulation de Berlin en 1945
AKG9171226 Soldats de l'armée britannique avant l'embarquement pour le D-Day en NormandieAKG9171226 Soldats de l'armée britannique avant l'embarquement pour le D-Day en Normandie
AKG7771522 Reddition des troupes allemandes à Stalingrad le 31 janvier 1943AKG7771522 Reddition des troupes allemandes à Stalingrad le 31 janvier 1943

First World War, Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War, scenes of daily life, portraits of personalities: your projects are enhanced by the use of colour images to give a more complete picture of the time.

AKG8883477 Albert Einstein photographed at Princeton University by Orren Jack Turner
AKG8883477 Albert Einstein photographed at Princeton University by Orren Jack Turner

After using our colourisation service for your images, or publishing our colourisations already available on our website, you will no longer see history in the same way.
​Colour brings these photos to life and shows our history and the lives of previous generations with greater acuity and truth.

AKG7771536 Soldats d’une division d’infanterie britannique près de Sidi Rezegh priant avant d’entrer en action en Novembre 1941AKG7771536 Soldats d’une division d’infanterie britannique près de Sidi Rezegh priant avant d’entrer en action en Novembre 1941AKG9118972 Des soldats américains atteignent Omaha Beach à l’aide d’un radeau de sauvetage, complètement épuisés : certains soldats sont dans un état critiqueAKG9118972 Des soldats américains atteignent Omaha Beach à l’aide d’un radeau de sauvetage, complètement épuisés : certains soldats sont dans un état critique
AKG8948358 Des membres d’équipage du porte-avions USS Saratoga tirent le pilote (ou le mitrailleur ?) blessé Kenneth Bratton hors du cockpit de son bombardier-torpilleur Grumman TBF Avenger au retour d’une mission sur Rabaul en 1943AKG8948358 Des membres d’équipage du porte-avions USS Saratoga tirent le pilote (ou le mitrailleur ?) blessé Kenneth Bratton hors du cockpit de son bombardier-torpilleur Grumman TBF Avenger au retour d’une mission sur Rabaul en 1943AKG8961711 Marine (Seargent Rance Richardson) lors d’une pause au combat dans la jungle sur le « Numa-Numa Trail » en 1944AKG8961711 Marine (Seargent Rance Richardson) lors d’une pause au combat dans la jungle sur le « Numa-Numa Trail » en 1944
AKG7890777 Street fighting in a town in northern France in 1944 (an American soldier and a French civilian).
AKG7890777 Street fighting in a town in northern France in 1944 (an American soldier and a French civilian).

Some of our latest orders:

AKG9242343 Two members of the S.A.S. (Specialized Administrative Sections): an officer with the "blue képi" (representative of the sub-prefect) and a "moghazni" (Algerian contractor) discuss with an Algerian woman in a rural area in 1957
AKG9242343 Two members of the S.A.S. (Specialized Administrative Sections): an officer with the "blue képi" (representative of the sub-prefect) and a "moghazni" (Algerian contractor) discuss with an Algerian woman in a rural area in 1957
AKG9147081 SA parade past Hitler Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg in 1936
AKG9147081 SA parade past Hitler Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg in 1936

Unless otherwise stated, all photos and colourisations in this article: © akg-images

We can colourise most black and white photos available on our website. ​ Please forward your colourisation requests to the address below.

akg-images London

akg-images London

akg-images Ltd

 

 

Get updates in your mailbox

By clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy.

About akg-images London

akg-images illustrate the history of world culture through an iconographic collection which spans archaeology and history through to performing arts, fine art and photography. Founded in 1945 and still independent, we work with world renowned cultural institutes, artists and private collections enabling media professionals to license unparalleled and unique imagery. We have been working with leading companies worldwide for over 20 years, licensing high quality imagery for a variety of editorial and commercial projects.

Our online collection of over 10 million images covers a variety of topics, including:

-      Fine Art and architecture

-      History and politics

-      Culture (cinema, performing arts, fashion, personalities, sport)

-      Science and Technology

-      Civilisations (archaeology, religion, human activity, maps)

-      Natural History

Get in touch with us to arrange complimentary picture research for your projects. 

Contact

Unit 1, 42 Beulah Road London SW19 3SB

+44 (0)20 7610 6103

[email protected]

www.akg-images.co.uk