At the other extreme, this vintage portrait invites some gay abandon in colorization thanks to a riotous background and a woman who looks like a Gypsy minus the usual trinkets and the dieting. The vintage photo is from a post-American Civil War veteran Fitz Guerin who took up photography after the war. It was titled "Lady Libertine" one of his so-called metaphorical maidens taken in 1902, just a year before he died. I have no idea what the metaphor was about, but the vintage photo is well-preserved as an excellent specimen for colorization.
This portrait shows a very healthy woman puffing cigarette at a time when the habit was considered unlady-like. (While cigarettes had been hand-rolled even before the civil war, the first commercial mass produced cigarettes appeared in 1881 and cigarette smoking was first advertised for women in 1920). And what is that on her right hand? Looks like an Amarula or a Bailey's Irish cream liquor coffee, one of my favorite beverages that I can no longer afford. With 18% alcohol content, liqueur is stronger than champaigne with just 12% alcohol. This lady certainly knew how to be drunk in style though cheaper. However, It has to be an earlier version, since neither the Amarula nor Bailey's existed prior to 1970.
Fitz Guerin's Lady Libertine is one of the few vintage photos where I have 3 colorized versions. Colorization may be the only luxury I have today when I don't have to decide and make a choice. I just do what I like in as many versions. Well, I lied. I did have to decide that 3 was enough. There are several more colors and I am sure other colorists will have other ideas. Here are the two other more aggressive (garish) variants.
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