Extremely valuable color photo of Ha Dong province in 1915

The rural scenery in Dinh Cong village, Thanh Liet village market, wrestlers in Xa La village. are a series of extremely vivid color photos of Ha Dong province in 1915 recorded by photographer Le'on Busy.

In 1909, French banker Albert Kahn (1860-1940) began the "Earth Archive" project to record images from various locations around the world using a system of capturing and processing images using colored glass - the world's first color photography method.

Albert Kahn sent his photographers to more than 50 countries around the world and took a total of 72,000 photos. The person assigned to carry out this project in Indochina was photographer Le'on Busy (1874-1951).

A restaurant in the countryside of Ha Dong province in 1915. Ha Dong province at this time had boundaries corresponding to some suburban districts and part of the inner city of present-day Hanoi.

Dinh Cong village in Ha Dong province, 1915. Today this place is Dinh Cong ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi.

Dinh Cong village market.

The house by the pond in Dinh Cong village.

Rural scene in the old Dinh Cong village.

Thatched-roof market house in Thanh Liet village, now in Thanh Liet commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi.

Banyan tree and ferry in Mau Luong village, now in Kien Hung ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi.

Mr. Hoang Trong Phu - Governor of Ha Dong province and his wife in front of his villa, 1915.

Another picture of the Governor of Ha Dong province and his wife.

Governor Hoang Trong Phu and family members.

The children of Governor Hoang Trong Phu.

Ancestral altar at Mr. Hoang Trong Phu's house, Tet holiday 1915.

Narcissus flowers on the ancestral altar of Mr. Hoang Trong Phu's house.

The gate of the mausoleum of the Kinh Luoc Su Hoang Cao Khai in Thai Ha hamlet (including the land of four villages Thinh Quang, Nam Dong, Khuong Thuong and Yen Lang), Ha Dong province, now in Dong Da district, Hanoi.

In the grounds of Hoang Cao Khai's mausoleum. Mr. Hoang Cao Khai is the father of Mr. Hoang Trong Phu - Governor of Ha Dong.

Rural scene in Thai Ha hamlet.

Flood scene in Thai Ha hamlet.

The cemetery of the nobility in Thai Ha hamlet during the flood.

Wrestlers perform a ceremony to honor Thanh Hoang before competing with each other during the Tet festival in Xa La village, Ha Dong province, now Phuc La ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi.

A gentleman sits in the courtyard of his house in Xa La.

The village chief and the elders gathered in front of Nam Du communal house, now in Linh Nam ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi.

The village chief was covered by an umbrella while sitting in the communal house yard.

The local official stood at the gate of the communal house.

The buffalo head is placed on the altar in the communal house.

Patients in the leper colony in Yen Duyen, now in Yen So ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi.

Portrait of a leprosy patient in Yen Duyen.

Children outside a pagoda in Thanh Tri, Ha Dong province, now Thanh Tri district of Hanoi. The French called this pagoda 'slaughterhouse pagoda' (Pagode de l'abattoir).

Another image of the 'slaughterhouse pagoda' in Thanh Tri.

A mausoleum in Ha Dong, 1915.

Agave plants at the entrance to the mausoleum.

Two women prepare offerings at a temple.

Riverside Road, 1914-1915.

Huong Tich Cave is located in Huong Son scenic spot, now in My Duc district, Hanoi.

Huong Tich cave entrance.

The scenery around Giai Oan Pagoda in Huong Son scenic spot.