Stunning color postcards show the idyllic life at end of the 19th century Norway, 1890

These wonderfully colorful postcards from the late 19th century depict Norway's breathtaking mountains, fjords, glaciers and towns. The postcards were created by the Detroit Publishing Company using the Photochrome process.

Photochrome produced a color image from a single black-and-white photographic negative via direct photographic transfer of the negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic version of chromolithography (color lithography).

Since no color information was preserved in the photographic process, the photographer would make detailed notes on the colors within the scene and would use the notes to paint the negatives before transferring the image through colored gels onto printing plates.

Highlighting how diverse Norway's landscape can be, these scenes show lush pastures and sleepy villages that give way to waterfalls and towering glaciers.

Norway benefited from the 18th century, which was completely free from wars and conflicts. This allowed the Norwegians to lead a romantic life, taking care of their land and nurturing a rural lifestyle.

A large proportion of the Norwegians were fishermen – using the spectacular planes of water seen in these images.

Urban urban housing was unusual - with no city with more than 15,000 inhabitants. Instead, Norwegian people's life was centered on small villages that cultivated quiet communities amidst a gorgeous setting of mountains.