Tintype
From George Eastman House : Notes On Photographs
Although first introduced in the 1850s as the ferrograph then the melainotype and finally the ferrotype, the popular slang term tintype quickly became the popular name for these direct positive collodion images on {Japanning|Japanned]] iron plates. Ironically there was seldom any tin used in making the iron support upon which the image was made. The reference seems to have been based on the cheap, tinny feel of the thin iron plates. Multiple images on a plate were frequently cut out from the sheet by the tintypist with snips. See Ferrotype Process.[1]
A tintype is a non-reflective, one-of-a-kind photograph on a sheet of iron coated with a dark enamel. Its most common use was for portrait photography. Like ambrotypes, tintypes rely on the principle that underexposed collodion negatives appear as positive images when viewed against a dark background. Less expensive and more durable than either ambrotypes or daguerreotypes, tintypes did not require protective cases and were often kept in simple paper frames or folders. Tintypes first appeared in the United States in 1856 and remained popular well into the 20th century.[2]
- ↑ Osterman, Mark. 2007. Tintype. In The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography: Digital Imaging, Theory and Applications, History, and Science, ed. Michael R. Peres, 118, Focal Press.
- ↑ George Eastman House. 2002. 1000 Photo Icons: George Eastman House. Koln: Taschen.