The first-ever color photographic history of Philadelphia
Available October 2026
“To see our beloved city with all its diverse and rich images I am sure will conjure the scent of cheesesteaks, the ‘Sound of Philadelphia,’ hot summer breezes and so many faces of the people who are the heart of this keystone state.”
“This book is like a spell, a visual series of incantations that will routinely bring Philadelphia to life for you, no matter the location, no matter the decade, no matter the community, no matter the time of year, no matter the class, no matter the race, no matter the creed.”
— Tre Johnson, from the Introduction
"Philadelphia never gives up, and its biggest wins happen in moments and places you’d
never expect. The only way to get this place is to talk with everyone, and listen. Tune
into the street banter, the radio, the guy nextdoor. Philadelphia in Color is an amazing
how-to guide: some 200 neighbors telling us what happened and hinting at what we
should do right now. No matter that the pictures are from long ago. This book unfolds
like a beating heart, each picture another pulse of life."
— Peter Barberie, Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art
“Photographs preserve more than places—they hold stories, relationships, aspirations, and memories passed from one generation to the next. Philadelphia in Color: 1950 - 1990 brings together hundreds of images from family albums, personal archives, institutional collections, and community contributors to reveal the everyday lives of Philadelphians across four transformative decades. Assembled from many perspectives, these photographs present Philadelphia as both subject and storyteller, capturing moments of celebration, activism, labor, leisure, and belonging. Together, they create a collective portrait of a city shaped by resilience, creativity, and change, challenging familiar narratives of urban decline while reminding us of photography’s power to preserve memory and connect generations.”