Portrait of a Hopi Indian holding one of the baskets she has made. Image: Franklin Price Knott/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

Virginia – a girl poses with corn and pumpkins during corn harvest. Image: Charles Martin/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

Crow Indian Reservation, Montana – Men stand at the site of the monument to the Seventh Cavalry. Image: Edwin L. Wisherd/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

San Antonio, Texas – A trick rider poses with her blue pony at the rodeo. Image: Clifton R. Adams/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

New Orleans, Louisiana – A woman sitting on stone steps in The French Quarter sells pralines. Image: Edwin L. Wisherd/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

It’s been a century since National Geographic published its first color cover using the autochrome technique. Gradually phased out post 1930 and replaced by Kodachrome and Agfacolor, the autochrome era is said to have given the art of painting a run for its money. With its lush colors and lyrical and evocative quality, the technique not only dislodged black and white photography’s monarchy but also brought together science and art. Credited to the Lumiere brothers, autochrome painted dreams in colors.

In probably what is one of the largest collection of autochrome photographs available, the National Geographic Society has around 12,000 autochromes. And those of America at the start of the 20th century are thoroughly mesmerizing. The series captures American life and scenery at leisure. From Indians to cowboys, men shoveling sulfur to a tribal woman selling baskets, shots of the New York city skyline, those of a distinct love for the outdoors – the grainy images show a country and its (true) colors.