Kelleycolor
Description
“In 1919 Kelley produced a series of coloured cartoons which were drawn by Pinto Colvig. In 1924 he introduced “Kelleycolor,” which was an imbibition process. Two colours were imbibed on a black-and-white key image. In 1926 he became associated with Max Handscheigl [sic!] in the formation of the Kelleycolor Company, which was bought by Harriscolor in 1928. In 1929 Kelley started experimenting with bipack, and at the end of his life he was experimenting with methods for cementing bipack emulsion to emulsion.”
(Klein, Adrian Bernhard = Cornwell-Clyne (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.. 2nd revised edition, p. 19.)
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Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: The Old Family Toothbrush (USA 1925).
Original Technical Papers and Primary Sources
Kelley, William Van Doren (1927): Imbibition Coloring of Motion Picture Films. In: Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 10,28, 1927, pp. 238-241. View Quote
Secondary Sources
Fossati, Giovanna (1998): When Cinema Was Coloured. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 121-132, on p. 122. View Quote
Klein, Adrian Bernhard = Cornwell-Clyne (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co., 2nd revised edition, p. 19. View Quote
Layton, James; Pierce, David (2015): The Dawn of Technicolor. Rochester: George Eastman House, on p. 111. View Quote
Limbacher (1969): Four Aspects of the Film. A History of the Development of Color, Sound, 3-D and Widescreen Films and Their Contribution to the Art of the Motion Picture. New York: Brussel & Brussel, p. 21. View Quote
Theisen, W.E. (1935): William Van Doren Kelley (1876-1934). In: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 24, March 1935, pp. 275-277, on p. 276-277. View Quote
Theisen, Earl (1936): Notes On The History Of Color Motion Pictures. In: The International Photogtapher, 8,5, June 1936, pp. 8-9 and p. 24, on p. 8-9. View Quote
Downloads
Patents
E.P. 193,363 (Kelley, William Van Doren; filed Aug. 13, 1921; granted Feb. 13, 1923)
Download PDFE.P. 228,887 (Kelley Color Laboratory, Inc.; filed Jan. 30, 1925; granted Sept. 3, 1925)
Download PDFKelley, William Van Doren (1927): Imbibition Coloring of Motion Picture Films. In: Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 10, 28, 1927, pp. 238-241.
Download PDFU.S.P. 1,295,028 (Handschiegl, Max; filed Apr. 30, 1918; granted Feb. 18, 1919)
Download PDFU.S.P. 1,316,791 (Handschiegl, Max; filed Apr. 9, 1918; granted Sept. 23, 1919)
Download PDFU.S.P. 1,674,174 (Kelley, William Van Doren/Tronolone, Dominick; filed Jan. 11, 1924; granted June 19, 1928)
Download PDFU.S.P. 1,505,787 (Kelley, William Van Doren; filed Oct. 2, 1923; granted Aug. 19, 1924)
Download PDF
Contemporary Reception
Mees, C.E. Kenneth (1929): The Processes of Color Photography. III. Color Cinematography. In: The Journal of Chemical Education, 6, pp. 44–51, on pp. 48–49. View Quote
