Japan, circa 1880
by Kusakabe Kimbei

As the first truly practical color film was not available until 1907, 19th century Japanese photographers hired artists to hand color each print. This image of a young Japanese woman caught in a rainstorm is a particularly exquisite example of such work. Additionally, the photographer of this scene, Kusakabe Kimbei, added studio ‘special effects’ of wind (attaching invisible silk threads to the kimono) and rain (placing scratches directly on the negative) to create an image as arresting today as it was in the late 1800s.