Boing Boing

Boing Boing

In 1911, one man launched an ambitious project to photograph humanity before modernization changed it forever

Ellsworth Toohey
Dec 11, 2024
∙ Paid
4
1
Share

Left: autochrome of the actress Matsumoto Tome dressed as a geisha in Kyoto, Japan, 1912; right: autochrome of a condemned man, perhaps a soldier, punished by cangue in Urga (Ulaanbaatar), Mongolia, 1913

In 1911, French banker Albert Kahn launched an ambitious project to document humanity before modernization changed it forever. His Archives de la Planète

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Boing Boing to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
Ellsworth Toohey's avatar
A guest post by
Ellsworth Toohey
Contributor to Boing Boing
Subscribe to Ellsworth
© 2025 Happy Mutants LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture