Submitted by Al…
During a regular Society meeting, Gerry brought in a photograph to show the group. He had purchased it about 10 years earlier at an antique store. It was encased in a malleable copper frame. The question he posed to the group was “Do you think this photograph is a tintype or an ambrotype?
Do you have a guess? Answer revealed later.
A tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s. Tintypes were sturdy and did not require mounting in a protective hard case like ambrotypes, however, some were mounted in cases for enhanced aesthetics.
The tintype's immediate predecessor, the ambrotype, was created by the same process as a tintype, but using a sheet of glass as the support instead of metal. The glass was either of a dark color or provided with a black backing so that, as with a tintype, the underexposed negative image in the emulsion appeared as a positive.
The tintype and ambrotype should not be confused with an even earlier version of a photograph, the daguerreotype (below). A daguerreotype is created by polishing a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish and treating it with mercury vapour fumes to make its surface light-sensitive.
In order to answer Gerry’s question, it was necessary to remove the photograph from the copper frame. Gerry graciously gave us permission to proceed. After removing the photograph from the copper frame, we were pretty sure we knew the answer, however, viewing the edges of the photograph still left us with shadows of doubt. We were unable to positively identify the type of backing material used. It could simply be a sheet of clear glass covering a light gauge piece of metal.
To get a definitive answer, we had to remove the backing. Gerry wanted to know the answer, so he encouraged us to proceed. We very gingerly pried the backing away from the glass.
Aaaaahhhhh, definitive proof! This photograph is unmistakably an ambrotype. After developing, ambrotypes are always monochrome, gray or tan in their lightest areas. To become a colour ambrotype, they must be tinted by hand. This ambrotype was hand-tinted with colour.
Here are the individual parts of this ambrotype photograph:
Clear glass with hand-tinted emulsion
Backing glass coated with black varnish
Black velvet backing
Malleable copper frame
The photograph measured 7-1/2cm wide x 8-1/2cm high.
A coin below the parts helps to gauge the size by eye.
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