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Until 1839 the World Was Blind...
Then Photography Was Born! |
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| This listing is merely an attempt to present the basic
groupings of antique photographic portraits. We hope that it will aid you in research and
identification of your treasured family photographs. |
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1839-1860
Daguerrotype - Two to three inch miniatures with the reflective
image directly on the silver coated copper plate. They were presented in and ornate velvet
or satin lined case and covered with glass for protection. Some quite rare, a valuable
find |
1850-1865
Ambrotype - One kind of image. It is a wet plate glass negative. When viewed
against white, the image looks like a pale negative, but when a black background was used,
usually fabric, paper or enameled metal, then a properly exposed positive is revealed.
Sometimes tinted with color. |
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1850-1900
Tintype - The collodian process negative was coated on a thin black lacquered
metalplate. This made the image appear positive. They became popular during the Civil War,
and are the perhaps the most commonly found antique photograph. The tintype could be
developed very quickly, so the customer could carry his portrait with him.Not the same
quality as the ambrotype but cheaper to produce. Sizes ranged from the very small ``dime
size" to almost 11 x 14". |
1859-1900
Cabinet Photograph- The most common format of the paper print era. Generally a
4 x 5" photo mounted on a 4 x 6" pasteboard card. The photographer placed his
name on the front and as an advertisement his company name on the back. The
``Cabinet" was by far the most popular, but the most fashionable vogue of all was the
``Carte De Viste". These were produced in quantity through the use of a multi lens
camera and were made famous by the vanity of Napoleon III, who had them printed as calling
cards. This craze swept across the world with unprecedented speed. Most homes had a small
basket at the entry where visitors could leave their cards. |
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1880-1920
Oval Convex - At one time the absolute rage in photo-portraiture, the 13
1/2" x 191/2" convex prints were presented with oval frames and convex glass.
The process of producing a very weak image and then adding some charcoal ``art" as
enhancement was the great selling point. Some prints are seen to have the same
characteristics, but are presented without bubbling and were printed in a variety of
shapes |
1850-
Stereograph - These were produced using a specially devised double lens camera
that sees just as our eyes do. Each image is half of a two image panel that's meant to be
viewed through a hand held stereoscopic device. This made three dimensional photography a
reality and opened up a new world to the Victorians. They became the ``home movies"
of early 20th Century America.
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