Terms of service

The short version. We sell small fixed editions of historical photographs, restored in full color. Every detail you see is the original photograph; only the color is new. We describe each print honestly, we state the edition size on its page, and when an edition sells out it closes for good. Dutch law applies, your consumer rights are untouched, and support@pastincolor.com is a person. The rest of this page is the contract version of those sentences.

In short: we deliver what we show, and if we ever fall short you will find us easy to reach.

Last updated: 9 September 2026. These terms apply to every visit to pastincolor.com and to every order placed through it. By placing an order you accept them. They should be read together with our refund and returns policy, shipping policy and privacy policy, which form part of them.

1. Who we are

  • Trade name: Past in Color
  • Registered as: CS Totaal, a sole proprietorship under Dutch law
  • Address: Bankastraat 3, 2612 AE Delft, the Netherlands
  • Chamber of Commerce (KvK): 85866539
  • VAT identification: NL004158915B04
  • Email: support@pastincolor.com

Prints are produced and shipped on our behalf by a professional print partner with facilities in the United States and the European Union. The contract is with us, not with them.

2. What we sell

2.1 The prints

Each product is a physical print of a historical photograph held by a public archive, carefully restored in full color using modern professional digital techniques and transferred onto the archive's own scan of the original. Every detail is the original photograph. Only the color is new; nothing is redrawn, sharpened, or invented. Available formats, sizes and materials are stated on each product page.

2.2 The edition promise

Each photograph is printed in a small fixed edition. The edition size is stated on the product page and does not change. When the last print sells, the edition closes and is never printed again. Replacements for damaged prints replace a copy and do not add to the edition; returned prints are not resold. Product pages carry the story of the photograph and a list of sources; that research is part of what you buy.

2.3 Color is a restoration

The color in every print is our best rendering of the scene, informed by period sources listed on the product page. It is an interpretation, not a record, and we do not claim that any color is exactly as it was. Where the archive can only give a date range, we state the range and do not narrow it.

2.4 Source photographs

The photographs we publish are, to the best of our knowledge and research, in the public domain, and each product page names the holding institution and the record. If you believe a photograph is published in error, see our image sourcing and takedown policy; we respond to every notice.

3. Collections and openings

  • Prints are released in collections that open at a stated date and time. Until a collection opens, its prints cannot be ordered; you may register for first access.
  • Any discount code we send you is personal, valid for one use, limited to the collection it was issued for, and has no cash value. It cannot be transferred, combined with other discounts unless we say so, or applied after it expires.
  • To protect the edition, we may limit the number of copies of a print that one customer may order. We may cancel, with a full refund, any order that exceeds such a limit or that we reasonably believe was placed to resell.
  • If a price is displayed that is obviously wrong, we may cancel the order and refund you in full, and we will tell you why.

4. Ordering and the contract

Your order is an offer to buy. The automatic order confirmation acknowledges that we received it. The contract is concluded when we accept the order, which happens when production starts and at the latest when we send the shipping confirmation. Before that we may decline an order, for example because the edition has sold out in the seconds before yours, because payment could not be verified, or in the cases in section 3; if we do, we tell you and refund any payment in full. We keep a record of the contract and you receive a copy by email.

5. Prices, taxes and duties

  • Prices are shown in euros, or in US dollars for customers in the United States, and are fixed for the currency shown.
  • Shipping to the United States and the European Union is included in the price.
  • Prices for customers in the European Union include VAT. Where we are required to collect sales tax in the United States it is shown at checkout before you pay.
  • Prints are produced close to where they ship, so import charges are not expected in the United States or the European Union. Should a customs charge arise anyway, for example on a shipment to a country we do not produce in, it is the recipient's responsibility, and we tell you before shipping where we can.

6. Payment

Payment is taken when you order, through Shopify Payments and the methods shown at checkout. We never see or store your card number. If a payment is reversed or fails after production has started, we may suspend delivery until it is resolved.

7. Delivery

Production times, delivery estimates, tracking and what happens with wrong addresses are in our shipping policy. Delivery estimates are estimates, not guarantees. If a print has not been delivered within 30 days of your order and we cannot agree a new date with you, you may cancel for a full refund. The risk of loss or damage passes to you when you, or a person you named, take physical possession of the print.

8. Returns, refunds and your guarantee

Damaged, defective, wrong or lost prints are replaced or refunded anywhere, as described in our refund and returns policy. If you are a consumer in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you have a 14-day right of withdrawal after delivery and a legal guarantee that the print conforms to its description; both are set out there. Outside the EU and UK, sales are final except for damaged, defective, wrong or lost prints.

9. Intellectual property

  • The original photographs are public domain. Our restorations, the texts and research on this site, the product photography, the site itself, and the name Past in Color are ours and protected by copyright and trade mark law to the extent the law allows.
  • Buying a print gives you the physical print, for personal display. It does not give you the right to reproduce, scan, license, or sell copies of the restored image, or to present the print as your own work.
  • You may photograph your print and share it; we are glad when you do.

10. Email and your data

We send marketing email only to people who asked for it, and every email carries an unsubscribe link. Registering for a collection signs you up for that collection's emails only. How we handle personal data is in our privacy policy.

11. Liability

Our total liability for an order, on any legal basis, is limited to the price you paid for it, except where the law does not allow that limit. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, and nothing in them limits your statutory rights as a consumer. If you buy as a business, we are not liable for indirect loss, loss of profit, or loss of goodwill.

12. Events beyond our control

We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as carrier disruption, strikes, severe weather, or failure of a production facility. We will tell you what we know and, if the delay becomes unreasonable, you may cancel for a full refund.

13. Applicable law and disputes

  • Dutch law applies to these terms. If you are a consumer in another country, you also keep the protection of the mandatory consumer law of the country where you live.
  • If something goes wrong, write to us first. We resolve almost everything by email within a few days.
  • If we cannot resolve it, you may bring a claim before the competent court in the country where you live, and we will only bring a claim against you there.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version published on the day you order applies to that order. The date at the top tells you when they last changed.

15. General

  • If any part of these terms is found invalid, the rest continues to apply.
  • If we do not enforce a right immediately, we have not given it up.
  • These terms are written in English. If translated, the English version governs.

16. Contact

Email support@pastincolor.com or use the contact form. Postal address: Bankastraat 3, 2612 AE Delft, the Netherlands. We reply, usually within two business days.