Offering unprecedented access to the V&A's collectionof autochromes one of the greatest collections of earlycolour photography in the world Colour Mania presentsthis pioneering photographic process in its full, vibrantand painterly beauty and provides a breathtaking view ofthe early 20th century in colour. Fragile and light sensitive,autochromes cannot be displayed in public, and so thisvolume offers a rare and breathtaking opportunity to viewthem true to size.Invented by the Lumière brothers also pioneersof cinema in 1903, the autochrome was the first widelyavailable colour photography process and remainedpopular for the next twenty years. On its commercialrelease in 1907, it was eagerly embraced by Pictorialistphotographers and advocated by its leading memberAlfred Stieglitz, who predicted the world would become colour-mad'. Organized thematically and with in-depthsections on the photographers who engaged with theprocess, Colour Mania is built upon the latest scholarshipand research by Catlin Langford and includes insightsinto how these extraordinary photographs are beingpreserved for future generations. An opportunity to travelin time and understand a tour de force in photographictechnology, Colour Mania will delight anyone who desiresto experience the past in colour.