The first colour photograph made by the three colour method suggested by James Clerk Maxwell in 1855, taken in 1861 by Thomas Sutton.

In 1839, when photographs were seen for the first time, they were regarded with a sense of wonder. However, this amazement was soon tempered by disappointment: photographs captured the forms of nature with exquisite detail, yet failed to record its colours.

Attempting to meet consumer demand, photographers began to add colour to monochrome images by hand. Even at its very best, however, hand colouring was not the solution.

In 1861, James Clerk Maxwell conducted an experiment to prove that all colours can be reproduced through mixing red, green and blue light. This principle was known as additive colour synthesis. With the fundamental theory in place, several pioneers did succeed in making colour photographs, but their processes were complex, impractical and not commercially viable.

It was not until the end of the 19th century that the first panchromatic plates, sensitive to all colours, were produced. Now, at last, the way lay clear for the invention of the first practicable method of colour photography: the autochrome process, invented in France by Auguste and Louis Lumiere.

Autochrome plates are made up of red green and blue microscopic potato starch grains, around 4 million per square inch. When a photograph is taken it passes through the colour filters to the photographic emulsion. The plate is processed to produce a positive transparency. As light travels through the strach grains they begin to combine creating a colour image of the original subject.