Found this on Nat Geo about the photograph:

Best known for his development of electromagnetic theory, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell dabbled in color theory throughout his life, eventually producing the first color photograph in 1861. Maxwell created the image of the tartan ribbon shown here by photographing it three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one color composite.

Photograph by James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell did this, invented color photography. On top of defining the electromagnetic force. What a mad lad indeed!

Imagine the Edinburgh nightlife during Maxwell's time, a hotbed of some of the world's scientific, intellectual elite, and from what I've heard it was a party town. Pubs, taverns and private clubs, Scotch and cigar smoke in the air, perhaps? Something for every occasion, from the rowdy drunken singalongs to the tophat-and-white-gloves society.

In 1861 Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell produced the earliest color photograph, an image of a tartan ribbon, by having it photographed three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one color composite. Because of this photograph Maxwell is credited as the founder of the theory of additive color.

https://www.historyofinformation.com/...

Interesting!