Adolfo Biener's Hand-tinted
Images
Adolfo Biener colorized
his photographs into postcards that lie between two major periods in postcard
making: black and white real photos and color chromes. Before color film was
readily available in Guatemala, Biener's technique, exactly like that of Luis Marquez in Mexico, made
his postcard images appear as if they had been shot in color. (Although KODACHROME
slide film was introduced in 1935, AGFACOLOR print film in 1936, and KODACOLOR in 1942,
Guatemalan and Mexican postcards do not reflect the common use of color film until the
1950s.)
The real photo postcard at top right was individually printed in a darkroom.
The negative has been titled and numbered "Fabricando Tinajas. Guatemala. 40."
Embossed in the lower right corner of the face of the postcard is "Adolfo Biener /
Guatemala." The paper on which the negative was printed was manufactured by Azo from
the mid-1920s until the 1940s.
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(Click to compare
in a larger format)
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To create the postcard at bottom left, an original black and white photo was
colored by hand. The resulting "master" copy was then mass-produced
mechanically by a chromo-lithographic process. The new title is "Indígena de
Chinautla, quemando ollas." It is numbered "Foto-Biener Nr. 1162" and
"Propiedad del Editor" is printed vertically down the center of the back.
This example wasn't mailed, but others in the series were postmarked in the 1940s.
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Indias
de Atitlán
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Vendedoras
en la Feria
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India de Chinautla,
moldando tinajas
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Orillas
Lago de Atitlán
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Campanario,
iglesia en Atitlán
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Músico indígena,
San Martín Chile Verde
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Indias del pueblo
San Antonio Palopó
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Cargador de
tinajas - Quiché
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Hall del Aeropuerto
de la Aurora
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Fuente colonial,
Chimaltenango
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Patio de la iglesia,
Santiago Atitlán
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Hospital
de Quiriguá
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Reja, Mayan Inn,
Chichicastenango
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Chichicastenango
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Indio orando en el interior de la iglesia
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Fuente, Mayan Inn
Chichicastenango
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Indio típico de
Chichicastenango
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Dia de los Santos
Chichicastenango
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Indios
en sus oraciones
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Marimba típica,
Chichicastenango
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An original hand-tinted photograph was typically mounted on heavy textured paper that was
embossed with Biener's name. A gold foil label like the one above was glued to the
back. These two 5" x 7" hand-tinted photographs, mounted on thick paper
that measures 9" x 12", were recently donated to Fototeca Guatemala. Click
below to visit CIRMA's web site and explore its mission of preserving the region's
photographic history and making it available to the public:
Fototeca Guatemala
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