Fantastic photos and quite a difference from the grainy black and white photos we are used to seeing from that era.
It's a shame that cameras were not invented much earlier. It would have been nice to see photos of the American revolution or photos of the Middle Ages. Hell, imagine having photographs of the ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece? That would be awesome.
Ever have a chance to study the history of photography? A number of times people came close to the process, close to planting the seeds of what would become photography before the mid 19th century.