This versatile and perfectly compiled collection of color photos depicting the North Vietnam from 1914 to 1917 was taken by Albert Khan, a French banker, and philanthropist, known for initiating The Archives of the Planet, a vast photographical project. Spanning 22 years, it resulted in a collection of 72,000 colour photographs and 183,000 meters of film.
In 1909, Kahn traveled with his chauffeur and photographer, Alfred Dutertre to Japan on business and returned with many photographs of the journey. This prompted him to begin a project collecting a photographic record of the entire Earth. He appointed Jean Brunhes as the project director and sent photographers to every continent to record images of the planet using the first practical medium for color photography, Autochrome plates, and early cinematography. Between 1909 and 1931 they collected 72,000 color photographs and 183,000 meters of film. These form a unique historical record of 50 countries, known as The Archives of the Planet.
Kahn’s photographers began documenting France in 1914, just days before the outbreak of World War I, and by liaising with the military managed to record both the devastation of war, and the struggle to continue everyday life and agricultural work.
The bellow photos depict Vietnam at the outbreak of First World War, that time Vietnam was a part of French Indochina. While seeking to maximize the use of Indochina’s natural resources and manpower to fight the war, France cracked down all patriotic movements in Vietnam. The country remained a member of the French Empire, and many Vietnamese fought later in World War I.
A district chief and district authorities gathered at the town hall, 1915, Photos:
Albert Khan
A district chief reading a patent Imperial, 1916 Photos:
Albert Khan
A Hanoi girl, 1914-15, Photos:
Albert Khan
A local authority in hearing ordinary costume, 1916 Photos:
Albert Khan
A North Vietnamse girl whose teeth are tinted black, 1915 Photos:
Albert Khan
A nun and two novices, circa 1916. Photos:
Albert Khan
Actor and actress, Hanoi-Tonkin, 1915. Photos:
Albert Khan
An elder village notable near Hanoi, 1920.Photos:
Albert Khan
Baie d’Halong, 1915 Photos:
Albert Khan
Banane Hanoi, 1915. Photos:
Albert Khan
Buddhist Temple on the road to Tam Dao, June 4, 1916. Photos:
Albert Khan
Chaloupe Chinoise, 1915. Photos:
Albert Khan
Group of Tonkin girls, 1916.Photos:
Albert Khan
Group of Tonkin girls, 1916. Photos:
Albert Khan
Haiphong, 1915.Photos:
Albert Khan
Hanoi, sampans and Paul Doumer Bridge, 1915/Photos:
Albert Khan
Hongay, 1915
Le Pont Paul Doumer, Hanoi, 1915
Making betel quid, about Hanoi, 1916
Mandarin militaire, mandarin chef de province et préfet en costume d’audience solennelle, 1915
Marchand de sentences, Hanoi, 1915
Marchande de riz, 1914-1915
Marché de Bac Lè, 1915
Mine de cuivre, 1915
Mine de Hong Gay, 1918-1921
Prêtresse des 3 mondes, 1915
Priestess of the cult of the 3 worlds, 1916
Rue du Chanvre, Hanoi, 1915 (Hemp street)
Rue Paul Bert, Hanoi, 1914-1915
Sampan en baie d’Halong, 1916
The Governor of Tonkin and his family, 1915
The highlands on the border of China, Na-Cham village
Tinsmiths’ Street, Hanoi, 1915
Tonkin – Hanoi Two opium smokers drinking tea, 1915
Two opium smokers, 1915
Two young girls wearing the non-ba tam
Village actors, Hanoi, May June 1916
Village chief smoking a water pipe, 1916
Woman Smoking Opium, Hanoi – French Indochina circa 1915
Young girls play the pawns in a human chess match, 1920
