Albumen Prints

"Albumen" prints were one of the earliest paper prints.  They were made by coating a paper with a combination of egg white and ammonium chloride.  This was one of the first photographic papers that could be prepared and stored until needed.  It was then "sensitized" with silver nitrate for printing from a glass negative by exposure to sunlight.  The albumen printing process was used extensively by itinerant traveling photographers.  The process was developed in about 1850 and reached its greatest popularity in the 1860's thru the 1880's.  The prints produced on albumen paper were very high quality and usually a brown in color.

An "Ambrotype" is a thin negative image on a glass plate, which appears to be a positive image by mounting it against a black background.  If the black background is removed, it appears as a ghostly, "silver" negative image. In some instances, the black background was painted on and is not removable. The process was developed shortly before the tintype, in 1852.  It became very popular by 1854 and continued to be produced thru about 1875 . Mainly due to the fragile nature of glass, it's popularity was short-lived, having been replaced by the cheaper and more durable tintype by the early to mid 1860's. Ambrotypes are very fragile.  They are quite often sealed and should not be removed or handled without the utmost care as severe damage to the fragile image can occur.

A "Cabinet Card" is a paper photographic image, about 4" x 5 ½" mounted on a cardboard about 4 ½" x 6 ½.  They were very popular from their inception in the late 1860's, through the 1880's.  By the early 1900's they were replaced by modern photographs.  Most of the photographs mounted as "Cabinet Cards" were "Albumen Prints".  The area below the photograph many times contained the photographers name, location etc..  The introduction of the larger cabinet cards also heralded the era of more detailed "studio sets".  The photographers duplicated the ornate Victorian style of the period as backgrounds and sets in their studios.  Many cabinet cards can be dated by their design.  The oldest cabinet cards were lighter weight and often had a thin red line just inside the outer edge of the card.  In about 1880, colors were used and the photographers began to place their imprint in the space below the picture.  These were followed in the mid-1880's by cards with gold and beveled edges.  In the 1880's a new style of maroon colored cards were available.  By the 1890's cards were being produced with fancy scalloped edges and ornate advertising etc. on the back of the card.  Time periods for these changes often overlapped so precise dating is seldom possible.

A "Carte de viste" is a small albumen print measuring 2 ½" x 3 ½", mounted on a heavy card slightly larger.  Introduced in America in about 1859, they were very popular through the mid 1860's, just prior to the introduction of the larger "Cabinet Card". Carte de viste's were produced with a special camera with 4 lenses that together exposed one-half of the large negative at a time.  The lenses could be individually opened one at a time for 4 different poses, or all 4 lenses could be opened at once for 4 copies of the same pose.  After exposing all 4, the lenses were moved to the other position to repeat the process exposing the balance of the negative.  The negatives were then contact printed on "Albumen Paper" using sunlight as a light source.  The photographer monitored development until satisfactory exposure had taken place which could be 30 minutes or longer.  The photos were then taken in for the final procedures. After drying, the 8 photographs were cut apart and mounted on calling card sized mounts to be left as calling cards.  These tiny images then became known as carte de viste which is French for "visiting card".

Small elaborately embossed leather cases were used to enclose and protect the fragile Daguerreotypes. The earliest cases were wood frame, covered in plain Moroccan leather.  By the early 1840's, the cases were becoming elegant works of art with embossed brass frames matting the picture.  The advent of the inexpensive and more durable "ambrotype" & "tintype" of the late 1850's brought about the need for cheaper cases.  Plastic "Union" cases were developed in the mid to late 1850's.  Production of all types of cases continued thru the 1860's.  The most popular cases measured about 3" x 3 ¾".  Both larger and smaller cases were produced.  A "cased image" may be a daguerreotype, ambrotype or a tintype, but due to their popularity and volume of production, most hold tintypes. A typical case can be seen below in the Daguerrotype section.

Although not technically a photograph, "Crayon Prints" began as a photograph.  They are usually large portraits, hand-worked on top of very weak photographs.  The term "Crayon" refers to a variety of medium, including wax crayon, pencil and charcoal.  They are usually very fragile and easily damaged even by the slightest touch.  Often times they are found to have been painted with a coating of shellac or varnish which usually has yellowed to a dark bronze tone.  Many families have inherited these large portraits which appear nearly as accurate and realistic as a photograph but are obviously drawings. Many or most are flat prints, but often they are oval "rounded" prints mounted under "bubbled" glass in fancy frames.

Daguerreotypes

A Daguerreotype is a very high quality positive image produced on a copper plate that has a highly polished mirror-like coating of silver.  The process was invented in 1839, and is considered to be the earliest form of photography.  They were generally sealed behind a glass plate for protection and were usually placed in a protective case.  Daguerreotypes were most popular just before the advent of the "Ambrotype" & "Tintype", in the early 1850's and had virtually disappeared from production by 1860. As with a tintype, the sizes are generally standard.  The metal plate could be a "full plate" measuring 6 ½" x 8 ½" or smaller plates, cut from a full plate.  The plates were usually divided equally into 1/2, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9, or even 1/16th plate images although larger and smaller plates are possible and rarely found. Color was added to some Daguerreotyes by the application of pigmented dust at the final stage of processing, while they were wet.  Daguerreotypes are usually reversed, left to right unless photographed through a mirror.  The easiest way to identify a Daguerreotype is that it changes from a positive to a negative image, depending on the direction of a light source or the angle of view.  They can be distinguished from a "tintype" by the fact that since it on a copper plate, the daguerreotype is non-magnetic, whereas the tintype will attract a magnet.

Glass Negatives also come in many sizes and should always be handled with extreme care.  Due to their size, a glass negative in good condition will offer a superior quality print.  They were printed the same size as the negative through the process of contact printing.

Older cameras, from the early to mid 1900's, used a variety of film, producing many sizes of negatives, some of them quite large.  As a general rule, the prints were "contact printed" which meant they were made exactly the same size as the negative.  This meant there was no enlarging of the negative.  This helps to account for high quality image of many of our older pictures.  Old negatives should always be handled with extreme care.  An old negative in good condition will produce a high quality print. Although it is possible to an old enlarge, they are usually printed the same size as the negative.

Millions of Polaroid® pictures were taken in the 1950's and 60's.  Because the process made prints without negatives, each of these pictures is unique and irreplaceable.  They are one-of-a-kind.  Many of the earlier prints have began mild to severe deterioration of the emulsion which will eventually obliterate the image completely.  There is no cure for the problem.  The best solution is to copy the photo now, in it's present state which will effectively "freeze" the damage at this point.  The original will continue to degrade but the new copy will remain stable for the immediate future and will in time be the more desirable of the two.  If the deterioration is in the form of an off color "rusting" or "staining", it might be best to copy and print as a black & white Silver Based print.  When reproduced as a black and white, an off-color stain will still be present, but appear only as another shade of gray or black and will not be nearly as noticeable.

Salted Paper Prints were the first and original paper photographic prints.  They were first produced in 1840 and continued thru the mid 1860's, with some renewed endeavors as late as the late 1890's.  They are usually reddish brown tone or even purple if they were gold toned.  Most prints were outdoor scenes.  Many early prints will show fading or yellowing around the edges and bleached-out highlights. Salted prints were produced from glass negatives.  They are identified through examination under magnification which shows that the image appears to be imbedded in the fibers of the paper.

Tintypes

A "Tintype", also correctly known as a "Ferrotype", is actually a negative image, produced on a thin metal plate coated with black Japan varnish.  A photographic emulsion was then coated on the prepared plate.  While it was still wet, it was placed in the camera for exposing.  The image on a tintype seems positive because the background is black.  They were first produced in the mid 1850's and were very popular during the Civil War period of the early and mid 1860's.  Because of their low price, they became a "common mans" photograph.  Although they were replaced by other types of images, they continued to be produced in the later 1800's and even into the early 1900's.  The sizes are generally standard.  The metal, or "plate", could be a "full plate" measuring 6 ½" x 8 ½" or smaller plates, cut from a full plate.  The plates were usually divided into 1/2, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9, or even 1/16th plate images although even larger plates were produced.  The most popular were 1/6th and 1/9th sizes.  With the development of the multi-lens camera with revolving backs, a single full plate could contain as many as 36 small "Gem" portraits.  After processing they were cut apart with tin shears.  Examination of an assortment of tintypes will show most have no standard size and are cut irregularly.  The corners were sometimes snipped off to facilitate slipping it into a sleeve or album.  Since tintypes were still available during the time period of the "carte de viste, very small ones were occasionally mounted in a carte de viste appearing mount as shown here.  After the war, with larger images becoming more popular, larger tintypes were fitted with enlarged openings in carte de viste sleeves.  All tintypes are dark and lack contrast, due to the dark background and negative image.  As with a Daguerreotype, color was sometimes added by the application of pigmented dust while the processed image was still wet.  A tintype can be easily distinguished from a ambrotype and daguerreotype with a magnet.  Because a tintype is on a metal plate, it will attract a magnet but an daguerreotype it is on a copper plate and a ambrotype is on a glass plate, neither are magnetic.  Tintypes are usually reversed, left to right unless they were photographed through a mirror.