The Tintype Process

…it is very doubtful if time shall produce any other style of portraiture which shall supersede the Ferrotype, or reduce it to a lower place than its present high position in popular estimation. – Edward M. Estabrooke (1872)

Unidentified soldier in Union uniform and shoulder scales with musket and knife, 1861-65. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. Ninth-plate tintype, hand-colored.

Tintype is a 19^th-century photographic process for making direct positive photographs on black lacquered sheet-iron plates. It is an application of the collodion (wet-plate) process, which was invented by Frederick Scott Archer in England and published in 1851. Just as the ambrotype—an earlier application of the wet-plate process on glass-- tintype produces an under-exposed negative that looks like a positive because of the presence of a dark background. The term “tintype” provided a simple and distinct name for this process, and although misleading (tin was not used for the plates), eventually became more widespread than the earlier names of “melainotype” and “ferrotype.”

Hamilton Lamphere Smith

Unlike earlier photographic processes which were all European inventions, the tintype process was invented in the United States, by Hamilton Lamphere Smith, a Yale graduate and a professor of natural philosophy  at Kenyon College, Ohio. In 1856, he received a patent “For the Use of Japanned Metallic Plates in Photography” (Rinhart, 11). The possibility of applying the collodion process on metal was first described by Adolphe Alexandre Martin to the French Academy of Sciences in 1852. Smith turned this idea into reality by developing what he and his close collaborator William Neff called the “melainotype” photographic process (Greek melaino = black). William Neff and his son Peter Neff Jr. acquired the patent for manufacturing the plates, more specifically for the method of coating them, and established a thriving business, boosted by the popularity of the process during the Civil War Era. Neff’s strongest competitor, Victor Moreau Griswold from Lancaster, Ohio, introduced a thinner and lighter plate that he called “ferrotype” and offered two finishes for it—egg-shell and glossy—which became standard for the industry (Rinhart, 21). The competition between Griswold and Neff came to be known as “The War of the Roses” (Taft, 158).

Mary Bannister, wife of Private George H. Bannister of Company H, 13th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, 1861-65. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. Quarter-plate tintype, hand-colored.

The tintype process used as base for the photographic image a thin sheet-iron plate coated with japan varnish (asphaltum, linseed oil, and turpentine), mixed with lampblack and umber for shading. The lacquered plate presented a perfect surface for the application of collodion—sturdy, lightweight, with a smooth and shiny black surface (Rinhart, 11-12). The lacquered plates were manufactured and shipped ready for use. The photographer would select the appropriate size of plate for each customer order, apply collodion (a mixture of gun cotton, ether and alcohol) mixed with bromide or potassium iodide evenly over the plate, and immerse it immediately in silver nitrate bath to sensitize it. He would then place the wet sensitized plate into a holder and inside the camera and expose it right away. The average exposure would be about 6-10 seconds (Taft, 165). The exposed plate would be “developed with a solution of ferrous sulfate and nitric acid and then fixed in a sodium thiosulfate or potassium cyanide bath” (Lavédrine, 36). Tintype photographers preferred potassium cyanide to sodium thiosulfate (“hypo”) as fixer, because it was much faster to wash off: 1-2 min. instead of 5min. (Rinhart, 50). After washing it, the photographer would dry the tintype photograph by heating it over a spirit lamp or with gas and then varnish it. By 1858, varnishing became routine for both sides of the plate to prevent oxidation. Color would be applied last.

Unidentified woman, Salem, Massachusetts, 1861-70. Gladstone Collection of African American Photographs, Library of Congress. Tintype on paper mat (front and back shown).

Abraham Lincoln, political campaign button, Feb. 9, 1864. Library of Congress. Tintype.

Many well-established photographers of the 19^th century looked upon the tintype process with disdain and considered it of low quality. Indeed, the tintype photographs had some negative features. They offered a mirror image (laterally reversed with no possibility of correction), were duller and grayer than ambrotypes, and were prone to iron corrosion over time or bending and surface cracks. Those deficiencies, however, were no match for the numerous positive features, which made the tintype process the most popular one of the Civil War Era and continued its application well into the 20^th century. Tintypes were sturdier and much lighter than glass, could be mailed or carried around without much protection, and were extremely cheap to produce. During the Civil War, “the camp-following photographer was probably the most instrumental factor in making tintypes known to the entire country” (Taft, 163).

Seven unidentified officers and soldiers in Union uniforms and one officer identified as Major Charles S. Cotter of 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment, with telescope, at Point Lookout, Tennessee, ca. 1863. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress.Half-plate tintype, hand-colored.

The tintype process was quick and produced a finished product in minutes. With the appearance of Samuel Wing’s “multiplying” camera, which was patented in 1862 and represented an improvement on Albert Southworth’s four-lens camera, sitters were able to receive numerous miniature images, called “gems,” from the same photographic plate for very low cost. Other formats such as “carte-de -visite” (2 ½ x 4in.) and the similarly sized “bon ton” (from a multi-lens camera) filled the albums and wallets of Americans. The tintype process was easy to master and became even more so with the appearance of F. Berneuil & Sons camera ca.1900, which allowed the developing to be performed inside the camera. The dark room was no longer needed for the itinerant tintypist.

Unidentified man, 1860-63. Library of Congress. Gem tintype.

The tintype process covers an extensive period of time in the history of photography (1856-1930), so tintype photographs are common in archival and museum collections.

Understanding the history, significance, and components of the tintype photographic process is of particular importance to all who take responsibility for the proper care and use of photographic archives. Recognizing signs of deterioration as well as understanding the preservation and conservation needs of photographic materials is a prerogative for ensuring proper care and future access to them.

References

Estabrooke, E. M. (1972). The Ferrotype and how to make it. New York: Morgan & Morgan. (Facsimile reprint of the 1872 ed.)

Lavédrine, B. (2009). Photographs of the past: Process and preservation. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute.

Rinhart, F., Rinhart, M., & Wagner, R. W. (1999). The American tintype. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.

Taft, R. (1964). Photography and the American scene: A social history, 1839-1889. New York: Dover Publications.

Additional Online Resources

Making a Tintype: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5KQQLBbcs

The collodion process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PAAJZRbn8

Civil War cameras: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJwAGuEnxo

Multiplying camera: http://notesonphotographs.org/index.php?title=Multiplying_Camera