These stunning photographs were taken by National Geographic Society photographers using Autochrome process. The society eventually moved on to other more advanced processes and finally to Kodachrome by 1938.
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - Children gather by a vendor selling "snowball" treats, c.1929. |
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - Five boys sit together, eating large watermelon slices, 1930. |
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| Louisiana - Four children cultivate cotton in a field, 1930. |
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| Manhattan, New York City - The sixty-story Woolworth Building in New York's skyline stands tall, 1930. |
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| Miami Beach, Florida - A group of people sunbathe and look out on the ocean, 1930. |
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| Washington, D.C. - A woman looks at fruit from a vendor in front of the U.S. Capital, 1930. |
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| St. Petersburg, Florida - Six women sit on the beach with the water behind them, 1930. |
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| Hopi Indian Reservation - Two men stand by a car in a field looking at the nearby canyons, 1929. |
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| Arizona - Dude ranch guests pretend to be cowboys, 1929. |
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| Bennington, Vermont - Two people stand among white birches in the Battenkill Valley, 1927. |
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| Montana - Three men stand in front of a plane on the Crow Reservation, 1927. |
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| Montana - A Native American family relaxes inside their tipi, 1927. |
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| Montana - A chief on the Crow Indian Reservation, 1927. |
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| Virginia - A woman and child do laundry outside in Sperryville, 1926. |
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| Virginia - a girl poses with corn and pumpkins during corn harvest, 1926. |
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| Washington, D.C. - A group of kids looks at an elephant in the National Zoo. c.1930. |
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| Stowe, Vermont - Two women look west from the village of Stowe at Mount Mansfield, 1927. |
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| Shasta, California - A woman stands at the edge of a pond observing the view, 1916. |
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| Portrait of a Hopi Indian holding one of the baskets she has made, 1916. |
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| A Hopi Indian and his burro stand at the edge of a high mesa, 1916. |
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - A boy sits on a barrel outside a brewery in the French Quarter, c.1929. |
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - A vendor sells pralines in the French Quarter, c.1929. |
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| An informal portrait of a young New Orleans boy eating watermelon, 1930. |
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| A woman sits outside the doorway of the Absinthe House in New Orleans, c.1929. |
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| Atlantic City, New Jersey - Life guards of the Beach Patrol push a boat into the water, c.1930. |
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| Ohio - People walk through stands at a Loundonville fair, 1929. |
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| Ohio - Four women stand beside an apple stand at a fair in Loundonville, 1929. |
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| Ashtabula, Ohio - Coastguardsmen go out in their boat, 1929. |
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| San Antonio, Texas - A trick rider poses with her blue pony at the rodeo, 1928. |
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| San Antonio, Texas - Cowboys and riders sit along a fence at the Rodeo, 1928. |
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| Fort Worth, Texas - A cowgirl shows her sister how to handle the ropes, c.1929. |
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| Fort Worth, Texas - Three young women attend a rodeo, 1928. |
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| People enjoy the falls of a brook during a warm summer day, 1927. |
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| Columbus, Ohio - A view of the high street in Columbus' business district, c.1929. |
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| Galveston, Texas - Men load storage bins with sulfur on the docks, 1928. |
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| Galveston, Texas - A man shovels sulfur in storage bins on the docks, 1928. |
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| New York City - An aerial view of Manhatttan, 1930. |
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| New York City - A view of the Hudson River, 1930. |
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| Manhattan, New York City - A view of Washington Square, 1929. |
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| New York City - A view of Washington Square at Fifth Avenue, 1929. |
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| Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Four tour guides of the Gettysburg battlefield wait for tourists, 1929. |
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| New York State - A group of students relaxes on the terrace at Cornell University, 1929. |
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| Crow Indian Reservation, Montana - Men stand at the site of the monument to the Seventh Cavalry, 1927. |
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| Washington, D.C. - A scenic fall view of the capitol, 1927. |
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - A view of galleries in the French Quarter, c.1929. |
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| New Orleans, Louisiana - A woman sitting on stone steps in The French Quarter sells pralines, c.1929. |
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| Manhattan, New York City - Commuters stop to look at hardware for sale along downtown streets, 1930. |
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| Miami Beach, Florida - Crowds form at a pool for a swim competition, 1930. |
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| Atlantic City, New Jersey - A panoramic view of the beaches, piers and hotels along the boardwalk, 1929. |
(Photos: National Geographic Collection/Corbis, via Mashable/ Retronaut)