Life Before World War II: Fascinating Color Photographs Capture Everyday Life in Budapest, Hungary in 1939

1

Though the history of color photography dates back more than a hundred years, the production and publication of color enlargements (photopositives) has only been widespread since the 1940s, when color film first entered mass use. These fascinating color photographs were taken by an unknown photographer using Agfacolor, they show everyday life in Budapest in 1939, just before the Second World War.

h/t: vintag.es

2

Agfacolor was the name of a series of color film products made by Agfa of Germany. The first Agfacolor, introduced in 1932, was a film-based version of their Agfa-Farbenplatte (Agfa color plate), a “screen plate” product similar to the French Autochrome. In late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor Neu (New Agfacolor), a pioneering color film of the general type still in use today.

3

The new Agfacolor was originally a reversal film used for making “slides”, home movies and short documentaries. By 1939 it had also been adapted into a negative film and a print film for use by the German motion picture industry. After World War II, the Agfacolor brand was applied to several varieties of color negative film for still photography, in which the negatives were used to make color prints on paper. The reversal film was then marketed as Agfachrome. These films use Color Developing Agent 1 in their color developer.

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

Beautiful Photos Of John Lennon With His First Wife Cynthia At Their Home In 1965

Wonderful Photos of London’s Tube Riders From the 1960s to 1980s

The Photos of the Stunning 1976 Citroën DS Tissier Car Transporter

Spectacular Award-Winning Photos from the Eyeshot Photography Open Call 2025

Desertification In Mongolia In Surreal Photographs By Daesung Lee

Stunning Autochrome Portraits of Women Taken by Alfonse Van Besten From the Early 20th Century

Miss Bikini Fitness Vladivostok 2012

The Extending Mini-Skirts In Paris In The Mid-1960s

Spectacular Winning Images of The Drone Photo Awards 2021

18 Photos Which Show Life From A Different Perspective

Vintage Album Covers From Yugoslavia Are Amazingly Awkward

The Messerschmitt KR200: A Sunny Day out In Germany's Two-Seater Tandem Bubble Car, 1959

Stunning Minimalist Architecture Photography By Kevin Krautgartners

Amazing Photos Of “Luxurious” Lada Stretched Limousines

Polish Photographer Katarzyna Niwińska Creates Magical Slavic Fairytale, It Is Mesmerizing

A Look at Girls’ College Dorm Rooms in the Seventies

Discover the Fascinating World of Plant Root Systems with Erwin Lichtenegger and Lore Kutschera's Collaborative Project

Vintage Family Photos of BMW Automobiles and Their Owners

Before Facebook: This Is How We Used to Unfriend People Back Then

A Fresh Breath of Icelandic Air

Photographer Karen Jerzyk Turns Abandoned Spaces Into Surreal Fairy Tales

ALIVE! Fred G Johnson’s American Sideshow Banners

Capturing the Short Shorts Phenomenon in a Photo Journey Through the 70s and 80s

A Powerful Series Of Images Featuring People Carrying Out Everyday Chores In Front Of Giant Storms

Ballerina And Flowers A Photo Series About The Resemblance Of The Two Elegances

Unbelievable Photos Show The Microscopic Beauty Of Butterfly Wings

Buttons and Kitty - Two Baby-Friends

Wonderful Intimate Photos Of Women Villagers Who Run The Show In Rural Russia

Sullen Waters: The Surreal Poetic Photo Artworks Of Nádia Maria

Photographer Ask Strangers To Reveal Their Deepest Regrets In Life