Our Story

Our passion for history runs as deep as our love of photography. It guides our curation of historical black and white photographs; images that capture our imagination and spark conversations about the places, people and events of the past that resonate today. 

Originally founded in 2019 by visual historian and professional colorizer Jordan J. Loyd, ColorGraph Co. is today the flagship print house of ⇲ Unseen Histories and the Unseen Store.

Recognising a resonance in historic black and white photographs restored and colorized with historical fidelity, Jordan partnered with an independent print studio in St. Leonards-on-Sea to produce long lasting-prints of outstanding quality. This commitment to the past breathes new life into the wonderful images we select for our Collections.

Under Unseen we are still the same, passionate team dedicated to delivering the highest quality museum-grade art prints to customers and history enthusiasts worldwide.

  • Museums & Archives

    As part of ⇲ Unseen Histories we work with innovators, creators, and curators with a shared mission to redefine what history can look like. In our aims, we always prioritise a responisble approach to representing visual history, which is why we support the ⇲ Colorizer's Code of Conduct — an ethical framework underpinning new interpretations essential to our collective understanding of history.

  • Pro-Planet

    We believe in conscious consumption. We're always looking for new ways to manage our environmental footprint. Where posible, our packaging is upcylced and recyclable, sealed with paper packing tape, and no plastic end caps.

    For every print sold through our website we will also ⇲ plant one tree for the purpose of reforestation and agroforestry.

  • Our Audience

    We celebrate the idiosyncratic. Our audience isn't location, age, or taste specific. What unites our community is an appreciation of history, a love of visual storytelling, and a willingnes to invest in the value of design and authenticity. This is an open collective in pursuit of discovering exciting new stories offering fresh perspectives on the past.

    Thank you for being part of it.

A CRAFT TRADITION

Jordan J. Lloyd

Over a century ago, it was discovered how to record light through the invention of the camera. Soon after, a class of skilled artisans developed laborious hand-painting techniques and photomechanical innovations to overcome the limitations of early black and white photography: the lack of colour. They aimed to bridge the gap between the high definition colour we observe in the world with our own eyes and what the camera recorded.

This work continues today. Like those before them, a new generation of digital artisans use colour to interpret an image as the photographer wished to capture it. While some images were produced black and white for artistic reasons, most historical colour-less photography is the product of limitations, technological and financial. 

The techniques have advanced, but the purpose remains the same. Only now, and for the first time, colorized images authentically depict a moment in history as the photographer might have seen it through the viewfinder of their camera.

Credit: ⇲ Reorient Design