Colorized Photos Bring the Vintage Cheer of Holidays Past to Life
Colorized Photos Bring the Vintage Cheer of Holidays Past to Life
1 minute read
Santa Claus with Christmas toys on a sled drawn by white turkeys. 1909.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of Congress
The spirit of the holiday season is wrapped up in a cultural history that counts Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey and Edmund Gwenn’s Kris Kringle among its icons. There is something about this time of year that inspires a look backward, not just on the previous year but on a feeling of generosity, an electric charge in the air, that has persisted over decades of Decembers. But summoning images of the cheer brought by Stewart, Gwenn and the anonymous faces captured in so many vintage photographs yields a world reduced to black and white.
To make those images more immediate, TIME commissioned freelance photo editor Sanna Dullaway to colorize vintage photos of the holiday season. From the messy aftermath of a holiday sale at Macy’s to mail carriers weighed down with packages to Santas straightening their beards, the newly vivid images have a painterly feel, like eerily crisp Normal Rockwell paintings. But they are also timeless, imbued with the same warmth and joy those who celebrate hope will characterize the season each time it returns.
Sanna Dullaway is a photo editor based in Sweden. See more of her work here.
Santa Claus with Christmas toys on a sled drawn by white turkeys. 1909.Library of CongressSanta Claus with Christmas toys on a sled drawn by white turkeys. 1909.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of CongressSanta Claus in airplane, 1921.Library of CongressSanta Claus in airplane, 1921.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of CongressChristmas tree in Madison Square Park. New York, ca. 1910.Library of CongressChristmas tree in Madison Square Park. New York, ca. 1910.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of CongressA resolutely tired Denzil Batchelor, in costume as Father Christmas, wearily answers another child's question at Harrods department store in London. December 1953.John Chillingworth—Picture Post/Getty ImagesA resolutely tired Denzil Batchelor, in costume as Father Christmas, wearily answers another child's question at Harrods department store in London. December 1953.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesThe mess in the wake of a major sale day at Macy's. New York, 1948.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesThe mess in the wake of a major sale day at Macy's. New York, 1948.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesClaimed to be the biggest Santa Claus in the world, 7'8" Jacob Hudson Nacken is fitted for his costume by a tailor on arrival in New York from Germany. December 1949.Keystone/Getty ImagesClaimed to be the biggest Santa Claus in the world, 7'8" Jacob Hudson Nacken is fitted for his costume by a tailor on arrival in New York from Germany. December 1949.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesSanta Claus school, 1961.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSanta Claus school, 1961.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLetter for Santa Claus, ca. 1910.Library of CongressLetter for Santa Claus, ca. 1910.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of CongressFather Christmas walks the streets of wartime London, The old man has exchanged his civilian red hood for a warlike 'tin hat', but, blitz or no blitz, he is delivering goods this year. December 1940.Getty ImagesFather Christmas walks the streets of wartime London, The old man has exchanged his civilian red hood for a warlike 'tin hat', but, blitz or no blitz, he is delivering goods this year. December 1940.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesConstruction workers line up for pay beside the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York, 1931. The Christmas tree went on to become an annual tradition and a New York landmark. St. Patrick's Cathedral is visible in the background on Fifth Avenue. APConstruction workers line up for pay beside the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York, 1931. The Christmas tree went on to become an annual tradition and a New York landmark. St. Patrick's Cathedral is visible in the background on Fifth Avenue. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: APChristmas Mail, ca. 1910.Library of CongressChristmas Mail, ca. 1910.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Library of CongressChristmas tree market. Berlin, 1899.Getty ImagesChristmas tree market. Berlin, 1899.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesGerman troops singing around a Christmas tree in their trench on the Eastern Front during World War I.Getty ImagesGerman troops singing around a Christmas tree in their trench on the Eastern Front during World War I.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesSanta arrives to entertain Allied troops on Christmas on Guadalcanal. Solomon Islands, 1960.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Premium Collection/Getty ImagesSanta arrives to entertain Allied troops on Christmas on Guadalcanal. Solomon Islands, 1960.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: The LIFE Premium Collection/Getty ImagesSanta Claus parachuting into Carol City Shopping Center. Florida, 1962. Lynn Pelham—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)Santa Claus parachuting into Carol City Shopping Center. Florida, 1962.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
