Back in 1909, French banker Albert Kahn was fed up with black and white photography. He sent four photographers to take their state of the art Autochrome Lumiere-system cameras around the world and document what they saw.
#1. Just some indoor hot air balloons, no biggie.
#2. No trucks here, just hard working horses.
#3. A girl selling flowers.
#4. More flower-selling.
#5. A swanky apartment and yet more flower selling.
#6. Flower selling, but on a much larger scale.
#7. A soldier posing by a scary-looking cannon.
#8. This was taken last week. Just kidding.
#9. Pretty Parisian streets with a bit of, you guessed it, flower selling.
#10. Fruit was much bigger back then.
#11. Soldiers waiting by the metro station.
#12. Trams and old motor cars travel along the Seine.
#13. The base of the then 25-year-old Eiffel Tower.
#14. The Champs Elysee without a tourist shop in sight.
#15. We love the 100-year-old adverts.
#15. A community washing clothes on the outskirts of the city.
#16. Spot the Louis Vuitton truck.
#17. The flower selling shift must’ve been over.
#18. Notre Dame minus Quasimodo the hunchback.
#19. A family pose outside their home.
#20. A communal garden.
#21. And of course, the famous Moulin Rouge!
We’d quite like to go back and live in 1914 Paris but, until time-travelling comes along, you can check out more photos at Paris1914.com.