History in colour

Sir, – It is somewhat precious of Diarmaid Ferriter and now Pat Wallace (Letters, November 4th) to object to the recent publications of books of colourised historical photographs.

Surely they must realise that monochrome versions of the past were at least every bit as unreal as the colourised versions?

The proof of the pudding is that the public have displayed an interest in these books in numbers that professional historians can only dream of.

– Yours, etc,

READ SOME MORE

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,

Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

Sir, – The black and white and the colourised version of the same image each offer a different experience of value to the viewer.

The viewer can decide if either, or both, mean anything to them. Can anyone seriously criticise Andy Warhol for distorting the true meaning of Campbell’s soup cans?

– Yours, etc,

CHRISSIE BYRNE,

Sandycove, Co Dublin.