Colorization in the Time of Coronavirus

As I write this the world is in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of us are huddled in our homes, socially distancing ourselves in hopes of blunting the spread of this virus. There is nothing heroic about that, just common sense responsibility.

The true heroes, of course, are the medical professionals, hospitals, nursing care facilities, grocery store operators, restaurant delivery workers, and scores of other public servants and private individuals on the front lines. They are keeping us fed and as healthy as possible.

These are scary an unprecedented times. It highlights humanity’s vulnerability and interconnectivity. We are confronted with the reality that, despite all of our societal advancements, we are in some ways as fragile as we were a century ago.

Literally the last thing any of us needs to be thinking about right now is professional photograph colorization.

But I have some time on my hands, so here we are.

If reading or thinking about this provides even a minute of healthy distraction for you, I’ll count that as a win. Here is the most recent Photo Colorization Poll (#18). You can vote by going directly to the Facebook post.

Photo #1 comes from The Library of Congress:

“Title from data provided by the Bain News Service on the negative.Photograph shows a British soldier wearing a face mask to protect against poison gas, standing with a woman holding another face mask, during World War I. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2012)Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).”

Photo #2 comes the NSW State Archive and Records (Australia):

“Nurses leaving Blackfriars Depot, Chippnedale NSW [during flu epidemic] - April, 1919” NSW State Archives and Records

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The coronavirus is not, of course, the first pandemic in history. And it won’t be the last. Hopefully we have learned some lessons from previous pandemics. And hopefully what we learn from this one will be remembered for the future.

Here are a few informative videos on the history of various pandemics.

The pandemic of H1N1 virus in 1918 infected about one-third of the world's population, causing at least 50 million deaths, including more than a half-million...

This film discusses how the United States is preparing for an outbreak of Asian influenza. Prominent physicians and the head of the US Public Health Service ...

Kindly note that an average between every 100 years is given for all major epidemic diseases. Please see the description for accurate years and check the lin...

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed 50 to 100 million people around the world. John M. Barry, the author of a book on the pandemic, explains what happened. An...

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