the beginnings of a collection

TheFlyingCamera

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A few tintypes and dags from my collection of cased vintage photos. In the photo of the gentleman in fine attire, can anyone give a best guess as to the time period of the photo based on his getup? I'm going to hazard a guess at between 1850-1865, but I could be off. The gentleman's photo is a 1/6 plate tintype. The case is complete and intact.

The Union soldier is a tintype, 1/8th plate. I do know a fair bit about the Union soldier - he is an ancestor of mine (name currently unknown), the photo was taken in either 1861 or 1862, as he is a member of the 76th Pennsylvania Zouaves, and the uniform style is from the first two years of combat. The case of the Union soldier is styled to appear to be a tiny book, but the top cover is missing.

The woman is a 1/6 plate Daguerrotype, taken in Argentina, in approximately 1850. The case is very similar in style to that of the gentleman's, and is also intact and complete.
 

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Curt

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Very nice, I have some tin types of my relatives, I don't know the dates either. The tin type certainly must have a time frame, I haven't checked. Your frames are really cool in them selves.
 
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TheFlyingCamera

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The tintype had a very long run. They began in 1856 and were still being produced commercially into the 1920s, but fell out of vogue by the 1880s. They were last produced in cases, like the ones above, in 1867. There's a good book out there that helps to narrow down the date range of various antique photo types-

Collector's Guide to Early Photographs, by O. Henry Mace - Wallace, Homestead Book Company, 1990.

The prices listed therein as price ranges are by now dramatically off, so only use it as a relative worth gauge, not as a definitive valuation.
 
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TheFlyingCamera

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Anyone else have a collection they'd like to share? When I can get around to some more of the cased photos I have, I'll post them as well, and the albumen print I have framed - another great ebay find- an 8x10-ish 1860s albumen of the Doge's Palace in Venice. My other Dag is in such poor shape I don't think it's worth posting - but for $5, I can't complain too much.
 

DannL

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My collection of tintypes/ferrotype is somewhat small but varied, most being 1/6th plate. Usually acquired for less than one dollar at local area antique stores and estate sales.

I'm still hoping someone could explain the spike in the hair in the last tintype. Cell Phone Antenna?
 
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TheFlyingCamera

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Perhaps the first recorded instance of an ACTUAL cow-lick?
 

Krockmitaine

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Probably the structure to hold patron's head fixed while doing a long exposition shot.
 

athanasius80

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Or is the cell phone antenna possibly a chignon (think hair bun) being held in place with a long pin?
 

Krockmitaine

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I'm not a specialist in portraiture, my field of expertise being railway history. But I agree with you that this is probably antebellum years, in the '50. And probably the portrait of a westerner.

What you can do is contact Nora Hague at the Nottman Archive in Montreal. She really know her stuff about XIXth century portraiture.
http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/services/archives/

Marc
 

Rolleiflexible

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DannL said:
My collection of tintypes/ferrotype is somewhat small but varied, most being 1/6th plate. Usually acquired for less than one dollar at local area antique stores and estate sales.
Click to expand...

Once you get past the antique medium, you really have to chuckle at a couple of these. The first one is a good reminder that even 150 years ago, photographers were already using cheesy fake "outdoor" studio backdrops.
 
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