Their World Wasn't Sepia

We tend to get nostalgic when we look at old-time photographs. The world of our ancestors is almost always seen in sepia tones - faces, clothing, buildings, trees, pets - all in shades of brown and white; even old papers fade to varying degrees of tan. I probably even chose it as the predominant color of the background of my website because, subconsiously, it seemed to set the tone for all the old stuff I want to write about and show. The brown family defines the antique world for us because it seems so ubiquitous - but it wasn't to them.

I have read many accounts in old newspapers about new delivery wagons and trucks looking so fine in their green, purple, and other daring paint colors, with vivid trim and lettering boldy advertising the company's products or services. Victorian lives were full of color, just like ours; ladies eagerly anticipated each issue of Godey's Lady's Book to see the next color plate inserts of the newest fashions, and children pestered local merchants for colorful advertising trade cards to paste in their scrapbooks. So when my very talented son digitally colorized my antique real photo postcard (RPPC to collectors) of the Crompton's Zat-Zit mobile, I felt some of that same joy over the glimpse of Victorian color before me. I was blown away at how the addition of color changed my perceptions of the old scene so completely.

The first image is the original, sepia-tone postcard; following it are several colorized versions. I haven't found any description yet that indicates what the truck's colors were, but based on these versions, almost any colors would have been just amazing!

Charles Crompton and his son, Edward, stand proudly in front of their delivery truck in 1910. This photograph was taken when it was brand new, ready for use as a delivery truck at the high point of the company’s success; father and son resplendent in their new delivery uniforms, which included “ZAT-ZIT” stitched into their driving caps. Two months later the truck was hit by an automobile and Charles Crompton, foreground, had some injuries, but the medicine bottles in the truck were destroyed.

This RPPC is a treasure in my collection; a special jewel that, when held to digital light, lets the Crompton's new truck sparkle in the radiant beauty that made impressed bystanders take notice.

Don't make the mistake of seeing the past in shades of brown - make it come alive in your mind with color, just the way it really was.

For more on the career and medicines of Charles Crompton, see:

PROMISING CURES, Vol.4, Epilogue: City of the Dead, Land of the Living