Turned out, the [French in Color series I posted earlier last week](/2013/01/the-real-moulin-rouge/) were part of a documentary series funded by [Albert Kahn](http://www.albertkahn.co.uk/),
[who devoted his life and fortune to paying photographic crews to document the cultures of the world with autochromes in an effort to promote peace and understanding](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/well-always-have-early-20th-century-paris-the-webs-renaissance-of-the-autochrome/272713/).

The process, [invented by the Lumière Brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autochrome_Lumière) were one of the earliest color photographic process whose surviving prints have been digitally restored and [recently exhibited](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/arts/design/lumiere-autochromes-and-other-early-color-photos.html?pagewanted=all).