Wolfgang Wild:
Jordan J. Lloyd is not only, IMHO, The Best Colorizer In The World™, he is also The Easiest Person to Work With in the World™.
Jo Keeling and Tina Smith transform book concepts into beautiful artifacts seemingly without effort. Working with Jo and Tina, nothing is ever remotely a problem – or, at least, that’s how they make it feel. They also create Ernest Journal, a publication almost painfully gorgeous. You would be well advised to purchase it immediately.
Amanda Uren carried out the research for the newspaper and document quotes in this book. She appears to have a magic magnet, which she waves over the haystack of historical documentation and suddenly all the shiniest and most interesting needles jump out. Amanda’s work is also faster than should be possible in a universe governed by scientific laws.
Alex Q. Arbuckle, who writes and curates Retronaut’s posts, is a magnificent writer. If he is still available, I would like him to craft the words for my tombstone.
Toby Hopkins at Getty Images has shown unfailing enthusiasm for this book from the very first moment we met, and has routinely gone out of his way to provide us with exactly the right image. Matt Butson’s support has meant we have had the privilege of drawing on the wonders of Getty’s vast archives.
The US Library of Congress is an almost unbelievable array of riches. Thank you to everyone who works to let people like me and Jordan explore these treasures.
The frustrating thing about making a book with John Mitchinson is that you then don’t really ever want to make a book with anyone else. To see myself through John’s eyes has been to see my favorite version of myself.
Unbound have enabled Jordan and I to make exactly the book we imagined, only even better-er. Thank you to Alex Bugden, Kate Burton, Xander Cansell, Mathew Clayton, Phil Connor, Jason Cooper, Mark Ecob, Isobel Frankish, Lauren Fulbright, Charlie Gleason, Caitlin Harvey, Rachael Kerr, Dan Kieran, Jimmy Leach, DeAndra Lupu, Georgia Odd, Kwaku Osei-Afrifa, Cyril Picardi, Justin Pollard, Christoph Sander, Anna Simpson, Kieran Topping, Hannah Whelan and Amy Winchester.
Even more than Unbound, thank you to every single person whose name appears at the back of this book. This is your book – thank you for giving us the chance to create it for you.
There is also a whole list of people who have provided exactly the right piece of information at exactly the right moment: ‘Atlanta’ Rob, Jack Betts, The Cody Archive, Dinah Dunn, Scott K. Fish, Dr. Sally Crawford, Historic Shipping, Kentucky Explorer magazine, Dr. Janice Kinory, Anna Krentz and ‘The Passion of Former Days’, Lincoln heights LA, Mary Murray, Niente de Nada, Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry, Alan Skerrett and Jubilo!, Heather S. Sonntag, Dr. Katharina Ulmschneider, The USCT Chronicle, Urban75 and Angela Y. Walton-Raji.
Also, a shout-out to the following inspiration transmission vehicles: Sacha Baker, Alan Capel, Gemma Cottingham, Ava Finnis, Kirsty Etheridge, Jane Finnis, Luci Gosling, Andrew Gordon, Greg Lockwood, Simon Mallindine, Steven Riley, Elizabeth Robinson, Sarah Saunders, Christoph Scholz, Jayne Smith, Bruce Woolley and Nick Wright.
Finally, the point of it all – Ruby, Zeb and Annie. Walled garden?
Jordan J. Lloyd
First and foremost, any undertaking of this size requires the assistance and talents of a group of extraordinary people: Deborah Humphries (deborahhumphries.com), whose amazing eye for finding even the smallest details has yielded the most impressive range of color references. I have spent many hours collaborating with Deborah, poring over and debating even the most minute of details that accompanies her splendid research – a cornucopia of images and essays that could be a book in its own right. While the work we do cannot guarantee historical accuracy, Deborah’s fantastic information for many of the photographs you see is as close to it as I can imagine.
Marina Amaral (marinamaral.com), whose raw talent and persistence has been indispensable in preparing many of the photographs for History as They Saw It. She is responsible for the unenviable task of blocking in the color for many of the mind-melting images in the book – most notably the photograph of over 600 people milling around in the garment district in New York (p. 40).
Emily and Robert Kern are possibly two of my favorite people in existence – they are not just good friends but also great collaborators. Emily’s research is dotted throughout the book. Robert, despite being color-blind, continues to fascinate me with his demonstrations of auto-colorization algorithms and pixel sampling using code; it truly is a wonder, even if it may one day make me professionally obsolete.
Jaana Seppälä, textile conservator and researcher at Satakunnan Museo, continues to correct and inform me of the most obscure details regarding period clothing – thank you.
Jan T. Letowski: independent researcher, consultant and specialist in European ethnographic dress. Founder of the Museum of Ethnic Dress & Adornment, Pittsburg, PA, whose incredible subject knowledge regarding the immigrant clothing you see in the portraits at Ellis Island are also books in their own right – thank you.
I would be at a loss for many of the dizzying array of military-related details but for the specialist knowledge of Bruce Bassett-Powell at Uniformology, John and Kristina Barrick, Julian Spilsbury and Bro. Bill Bradford at The Queen’s Own Hussars Museum, Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick, UK.
Hugh Llewelyn, author, photographer; formerly of the Railways Directorate Great Britain, Vern Tyler, Transportation Manager Emeritus, Maryland, USA, and Norm Anderson, Railfan, net member; lifelong train enthusiast, for their considerable knowledge of the liveries and makes of US and European railways.
James Buttles, owner/CEO of Oceanic Evergreen Technologies, Virginia, USA, for his comments regarding Lewis Hine's Power house mechanic.
Jessie Quichocho, US Navy veteran, based in Virginia, USA, for his working knowledge of the truly mind-bending image of the U-boat and making sense of it all.
To my friends in New York: Limor Garfinkle, Jose Fresh and Madison Salters – I look forward to roaming around the locations in which many of the photographs in this book were taken.
Back across the Atlantic, my friends in Spain: Carles Marsal and the team at Adobe Spain, Natalia Lopez Beswick, Ana Mesas and María José González for their continued professional support. Without Adobe’s amazing technology I’d be out of a job!
And to those who have lent a helping hand or provided better information when we needed it: Stuart Scheinman, Christoph Scholz, Richard de Pesando, Ayako Takahashi-Evans, Gareth Evans, Colin Eaton, Luci Jones, Mads Madsen, Sanna Dullaway, Doug Banks, Tony Koorlander, Sari de Groot, Ardi Arjela Kule, Clarice Ecanvil, Peter Searle, Andy Pritchard – thank you.
To Shane Killen, whose enthusiasm for the book has never wavered. I am sorry you can’t be here to see it.
To my fellow colorizers around the world and online, your support has always been most welcome. Particular thanks to the talented folks and subscribers at reddit.com/r/ ColorizedHistory – who knew where the rabbit hole would lead to?
To Tina Smith and Jo Keeling at Ernest Journal: I couldn’t have asked for better people to craft the time machine.
Huge thanks to not only the fantastic team at Unbound, who have made this happen, but also Unbound’s community: it goes without saying I am incredibly grateful for every pledge from friends, colleagues and family, but also to all the pledges from people I don’t know – you helped kick-start the time machine. I would love to hear what you think and I am humbled by your generosity.
I am grateful to John Mitchinson and Rachael Kerr, whose hospitality and faith in my abilities at a medieval cottage in the Cotswolds, what seemed like an age ago, was hugely galvanizing.
Last but not least, my partner in crime, a lifelong collaborator and, most importantly, a good friend – Wolfgang Wild, whose curatorial skills are beyond reproach. Being a fan of Retronaut long before I met him in person, I never could have envisaged the things we would do together. He is the Doc Brown to my Marty McFly, the Rufus to my Bill and Ted, and the Doctor to my Sarah Jane Smith. Wolfgang is the outrageous character who appears in your life almost at random, irrevocably changing it forever by handing you the keys to the time machine and asking simply, ‘When to?’