1 The tintype was immensely popular in North America from the late-1850s onward. To a much lesser degree tintypes were also popular in Europe, although European interest generally lagged by a decade. The use of collodion chemistry to make tintypes gave way to gelatin emulsion dry metal plates by the early-1890s. This genre of photography survived because of its continued use by street photographers until the mid-twentieth century. Ferrotypy is the proper technical name for this photographic process. The words "ferrotype" and "tintype" are terms often used interchangeably to describe the light-sensitive plates, and "tintypist" to describe the photographer. These and other terms proliferated throughout the popular language and in commercial and technical publications (Appendix A). Street photographers in Central and South America still practise ferrotypy today. This paper uses the convention ferrotypy for the process and the layman's term tintype for the resulting image. For historical accuracy, quotes and the endnotes retain the contemporaneous vocabulary.

2 The tintype, like the ambrotype, was a particular application of Frederick Scott Archer's wet-collodion process.1 A japanned (i.e., blackened) sheet of thin iron was substituted for the ambrotype's glass support. These metal plates were coated with collodion, sensitized and immediately exposed in the conventional "wet plate" manner. A photographer or "tintypist" would sensitize a plate, make the exposure, develop and fix the plate, and cut it apart with tin shears. A variety of formats, ranging from postage-stamp size "gem" tintypes (approximately 1.5 x 2 cm) to the large "double whole" plates (21.5 X 33 cm), were produced. (It is technically inaccurate to classify a tintype by a "plate" dimension as many are not only snipped in uneven portions but their edges were subsequently trimmed. Nevertheless popular nomenclature prevails.) The most common sizes included "one-sixth plate" and "carte-de-visite" (approximately 5.5 X 9 cm).2 Some tintypists enhanced the image by applying assorted water- or oil-based colours to its surface.

3 Tintypes have been produced in the studio, by the itinerant photographer and by the general amateur. All provided on-the-spot delivery to customers or friends. Subjects, often dressed in their Sunday best, some with fixed and glazed expressions or stiffening muscles and backs braced by assorted support clamps, could hardly wait for the magic emulsion to harden. Tintypes became the vacationers' keep-sake, the Sunday strollers' momento. Ironically the tintype, which so permeated the lower working class of society, rarely outlined the social and other problems with which this group struggles. Rather the tintype image, largely through the use of studio props, created an ersatz lifestyle and does little to further our understanding of the working-class life. This suggests that it is wise to remember that photographs cannot stand alone as interpretative statements about the past, any more than can other primary sources.

4 Very few publications have discussed in any detail and accuracy the development of the tintype.3 This paper covers the development of the process and a brief review of its introduction into western Canada; the camera, the studio and itinerant photographers; the tintype image as a keepsake and adornment; identification, preventive care and storage.

23 The early cameras consisted of a front box with a lens fixed to a baseboard on which a slightly smaller rear box slid. It was not until 1851 that the principle of the bellows was incorporated into the camera body. Suffice to say that even by the 1860s photographic equipment was still in its infancy. With the introduction of the carte-de-visite craze, many studios owned several camera boxes (bodies) that could be fitted with different lens systems called tubes. The operator could take several simultaneous exposures and single or multiple exposures of one or more subjects, thanks to a sliding, repeating back.51 The most basic tubes were set two by two, two by three, and three by three. Even sixteen by sixteen tube systems are not uncommon. René Dagron, ca 1860, constructed a microphotographie camera which produced a 2-mm-square image! The vertical and horizontal sliding motion of the plate holder combined with the 25-lensed board or tubes would produce 450 exposures on a single collodion plate.52 By the mid-1860s, the ability to produce images in multiples of two or more so inexpensively created tremendous competition for large volumes of business. This became especially useful for tintypes and stereoviews.

24 The portrait lenses used between 1860 and 1872 allowed for a working distance of four to five metres between sitter and camera. The photographer moved the camera to obtain initial focus, with finer adjustment by thumb screw to obtain sharp focus. Multiple lenses were mounted on a brass panel and each lens was individually adjusted for focus, because of the practical limitation (even well into the 1880s) of grinding several lenses for one board to precisely the same focal length. A final refocussing through the ground glass, and the camera was ready for almost any eventuality!

25 Properly immobilized or "clamped," the subject offered little problem; even children provided successful results. On occasion the camera took multiple images of inanimate objects (Fig. 1) for advertising purposes or calling cards;53 or a single image of a proud tradesman such as the "Watchmaker" (Fig. 2). Tintypes were often quickly produced, with little attention to camouflaging the obviously fake background or the extra protruding feet of the headrest stands. Occasionally the studio chair itself became a prop (Fig. 3) and allows us to appreciate its versatility. After they were developed, pictures were crudely separated by means of tin shears or snips and handed over to the patron either as is, possibly varnished, or placed in a card mount or album. Prevalent among Eastern boarding schools and higher educational establishments was the school album with "gems." A full plate of "gem" tintypes was cut, and the images inserted into specially matted pages suitable only for the small pictures. Headmasters and teachers adorned the front pages; students, by class or subject, filled the remaining frames. The practice was in general use between 1880 and the turn of the century.

26 With the introduction of the more rapid dry ferrotype processes ca 1890 the tintype camera showed considerable technical evolution and widespread use. The multiple lens camera gave way primarily to the single lense camera. By the turn of the century hand-held amateur cameras such as the "Telephoto" were marketed, while operatorless coin-operated "Automatic Photograph" machines (with built-in flashes)54 could be found at fairs. While by 1900 most automats still produced mediocre results, hand-held cameras produced surprisingly good, though stoic, imagery (Fig. 4a). It was not uncommon for even the outdoor or itinerant photographer to make use of the "flash" powder.55 The use of artificial illumination had existed since daguerreotypy. During early collodion photography, magnesium wire burning reduced studio exposure times to under a minute. The burning of magnesium powder came into general use after 1886, thereby reducing exposure time to mere seconds.

27 By the 1920s the widespread use of the rollfim camera by the amateur greatly reduced the need for street, country fair and beach vendors. The amateur tintypist, with his — now rare — pocket-sized amateur camera, and travelling studios (Fig. 4b) which used larger equipment were at opposite ends of the scale. Most tintypists had by now "converted" to the prevailing paper imagery. By the early-1940s the "tintypist" had more or less disappeared.

28 It is beyond the scope of this paper to review the many manufacturers and models of camera (200-300 for the tintype alone!).56 Representative examples, manufactured over a century, are outlined in Appendix B and Figure 5.

29 Some photographers found that life on the road provided a good income. Studio owners sometimes closed their city businesses for the summer and travelled to resorts and small towns, setting up portable studios and darkrooms on the outskirts of towns. Some of them either hired a temporary assistant to cover their studio operation while they travelled, or else sent the employee on the road. In the early years most itinerants used compact, very portable wagons, but citizens occasionally witnessed elaborate horsedrawn wagons or tents.57 Some even commandeered train wagons!58 Notman had darkrooms mounted on sleighs,59 though he is not known to have produced outdoor tintypes during the winter season. Transportation, whether on steamboats along the North Saskatchewan River or on a stagecoach crossing the plains,60 makes for picturesque and strangely appropriate imagery.

30 Figure 6 is a fascinating tintype taken by an itinerant photographer. The creation of the North West Mounted Police was in response to the need for a sensitive handling of native issues. This need was reinforced in 1869 and 1870 when the Metis showed their power and their unwillingness to be ignored by the Canadian government during the first Riel uprising. The necessity of a police force to keep law and order in the West, and to prevent open conflict between natives and settlers, had been emphasized by both missionaries and military men during the 1860s and early 1870s.61 Nevertheless, from Figure 6 it appears that, like the survey expedition through the open plains thirty years earlier, the photographer chose to record the "triumph of the White man bringing 'civilization' to the West."62

31 Some itinerants managed to have their dark room work done at a studio in the region they visited. They were usually resented by local operators because they naturally competed for business. They paid no rent or utility costs, and could undercut prices charged by established studios. Most chose to set up in the open air. Grass became the studio floor and carpet. The tintype "captured" patterned fabric or painted backdrops, often blurred by the breeze.

32 It is plainly obvious what problems both photographer and subject faced:

33 Once inside his small darkroom the photographer removed the plate from its holder, then adroitly poured a developing solution over its black surface. Almost instantly a creamy white surface trailed the liquid. The image fully materialized, the tintypist then dipped the plate into a fixing bath and finally into a wash. Minutes later he would return to the anxious patron.

34 Studio photographers might encourage the need for "artistic enhancement":

35 In general, tintypes are not considered to have great value, with the obvious exception of unusual views, activities, and portraits of famous people. The bulk of surviving tintypes feature anonymous subjects (Fig. 7). With few exceptions these are unremarkable in physical presence and visual sophistication. The fact that most early tintypes are portraits reflects the high demand for personal likeness and the relative immobility of the picture-taking process. Their intended function was not artistic originality so much as the subjective and inexpensive preservation of likeness.

36 Light and practically indestructible, tin-types were popular for sending through the mail — hence the names: lettertypes, lettergraphs (see Appendix A). Many, in an effort to emulate daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, were put into similar protective cases. The fashionable photographer tended to sneer at me tintype as being only suitable for those "in the humbler walks of life," but its use continued long after the other direct positive processes had been forgotten. The daguerreotype was no longer in use in Canada by the early-1860s; the ambrotype, after the mid-1870s. Cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs, together with the tintype, made up the vast majority of portraits from 1867 to the turn of the century. While the tintype never eclipsed any of the aforementioned processes, it outlasted them all (accomodating itself well to gelatin dry plate photography — in particular the Atrograph, which substituted paper blackened on one side for the metal plate. Both processes survive to the present day.

37 For the most part the tintype photographer made no effort to provide elaborate settings or moods. The sitter was usually represented full length to show off crinoline, fedora or walking stick — often studio props. Ironically there are very few with "Western gear." Facial expression was of minor importance. Commonly, only a tiny representation of the poser's head appeared in the picture. If there was any effort from the tintypist, all of his skill and flattery was directed towards the rather rapid arrangement of the pose, as most backdrops were often barren sheets or uninspiring "scenes." We see an increasing use of painted backdrops and props between 1870 and the turn of the century. Most are simple, but there is the occasional "grand" prop such as a buggy and, by the twentieth century, the car (often an itinerant "prop" considering the impracticality of one sitting in a small studio!). Particularly adept photographers occasionally produced "trick" or double exposures (Fig. 8). Unknown (at least to this author) are "spirit" photographs on tintypes and tintype images on both sides of the same plate.65

38 One must not assume that a tintype is automatically the original image. Many studios and itinerants were called upon to copy previously made and cherished photographic keepsakes. Dating a tintype is sometimes hazardous.66 Excluding studio use of right angle "corrective" mirrors or prisms, the tintype, as a rule, is a laterally reversed image. Therefore any tintype demonstrating visually correct wording, shirt button holes, etc., is most probably a copy of another image.

39 Both collodion and gelatin surfaces can readily accept a variety of dry and wet colours (though the author has not come across hand coloured gelatin tintypes). Most tintypes are not heavily retouched — the subjects are often too small to warrant concern. "Artistic" retouching becomes obvious on larger "half" and "full-plate" images. Jewellery-encased images — in lockets, necklaces, brooches, etc., found generally containing "gem" tintypes — were invariably painted over with gilt. Just as with ambrotypes, tintypes may show "jewellery" where none existed. To protect the handiwork the tintypist varnished the dried results. For the early itinerant photographer such varnishes became economical substitutes for protective holders and frames — thereby preventing collodion separation and abrasion.

40 As souvenirs and keepsakes photographs remain popular. No wonder then that daguerreian, tintype and paper images were often hidden or displayed in such jewellery as lockets, cufflinks, brooches, shirt studs and even suspender clips and tiepins.67 Multi-tubed cameras were capable of mass-producing "gems" which sold profitably. While the majority of anonymous lockets and photo buttons were distributed to friends and loved ones, others describe more illustrious figures. Probably the best known political photo button is that of Abraham Lincoln taken in 1860. Lincoln once said "Brady's photo button and the Cooper Union [speech] made me President of the United States."68 In Canada, Commander Garnet Joseph Wolseley and the 1870 Red River expedition veterans were commemorated with a blue lapel ribbon to which was sewn a matted tintype.69 It is interesting to note that, at least during the American Civil War, tintypes were occasionally competing with the art of silhouette-making.70 Nothing indicates a similar rivalry in Canada. It is not uncommon to find lockets in a collection which have on one side the portrait of a loved one and on the other, a lock of hair sealed under glass. Tintypes were even sealed onto marriage licenses.71 A more sombre application was the tombstone tintype. A current study of Prairie cemetaries indicates that encased photographs, including tintypes, predominate among Eastern European cultures.72

41 Always anxious to pry an extra fee from their enthralled patrons, photographers suggested that they enhance the image with inexpensive brooches, photo buttons, etc. For a few pennies more, the itinerant photographer would also "guarantee" the client's purchase with a coat of varnish.

42 As late as 1900 the Montgomery Ward catalogue promoted novelties like garter buckles with photographs, photo belt buckles, and photo watch charms.73 In 1929 Johnson Smith & Co. of Racine, Wisconsin, offered the Minute Brooch Camera, with everything necessary to make dry "ferroplate" medallions in 60 seconds — all for only $4.95!74

43 An unmounted tintype is immediately identifiable by its japanned (i.e., blackened) iron metal plate. A trained eye will recognize the early "thick" plates, assorted stamped manufacturer hallmarks (when present) and even snipped sheets. When placed inside a protective leather or thermoplastic case their identification can be in question. A small, fairly strong magnet held against the centre of the glass will reveal whether the image is a tintype.75 An image found in a "Potter's Patent" frame or similar cartes-de-visite paper/cardboard sleeve holders is invariably a tintype. There are of course exceptions such as Atrographs, "tintypes on paper," produced from the 1900s to the 1950s. With over fifty varieties of sleeves and cards, dating can be very confusing. Use the magnet from the back of the sleeve to confirm the tintype. It may be very tricky to confirm images inside brooches and other jewellery as these are often magnetic themselves! Ask an experienced eye to assist you. Occasionally a tintype will display the manufacturer's stamp along one of its edges (provided it has not been snipped off). These represent the earliest tintype period. Known examples of hallmarks include: "NEFF'S MELAINOTYPE PLATE / Pat 19 Feb 56-"; "MELAINOTYPE PLATE / FOR NEFF'S PAT 19FEB1856" (also with "Pat"); and "GRISWOLD'S PATENTED OCT.26,1856-."

44 Tintypes are still produced today and identifying them as contemporary examples can pose a problem to the untrained eye. The Comminger Brothers tintype photography studio in historic Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, dresses up visitors in vintage clothes and uses period studio props, head clamps, etc., and chemistry, as in the mid-1870s.76 Identifying the (post-1890s) gelatin-based tintype is best done under a microscope. Under high power a mottled reticulated pattern becomes visible. Reticulation is the result of excessive irreversible swelling of the gelatin of the emulsion layer. The fine ruptures occur during the water rinse, following the developing — a procedure automatically carried out by itinerant or street photographers. Note that a protective varnish on gelatin tintypes hinders identification.

45 Most tintypes suffer from a lack of contrast, the whites are never a sparkling white, but rather a dull grey. In reflected light the image has a creamy appearance because the beaded silver image particles are the correct size and shape to scatter some light back to the eye, rather than absorbing the light to make the image appear black. The more silver present in a given area, the whiter the image looks. Only a small amount of light incident on tintypes is scattered back to the eye, so there is a limit to the brightness of their highlight areas. This limited tonal range is one of the identifying features. This has nothing to do with clarity or sharpness. Enlargement (Fig. 9) clearly shows that excellent resolution can be achieved.

46 Dating a tintype is a tricky procedure. Most bear no photographer's stamp unless sleeved in a carte-de-visite or Potter's Patent card. Even then the card's back is often unmarked. American tintypes manufactured between August 1864 and 1866 will have a Revenue stamp cancelled by the selling establishment. (In England William Gladstone considered a penny tax in 1864, and so did Benjamin Disraeli in 1868, when it was stated that a penny stamp on roughly five million photographs [the great majority, not tintypes] sold annually would help in defraying the cost of the Abyssinian war.) Tintypes produced before 1870 have a "grey" appearance while those produced thereafter are of a "brownish" or "chocolate" colour. The term "chocolate" is a misnomer since the tintype image may range in hue from light red to near black! The problem is compounded with the introduction of gelatin emulsion tintypes introduced after 1891, as well as the evolution of grey to brown in tones. Except for microscopic examination, only the poser's clothing (i.e. fashion) will give a clue to an approximate date. Tintypes produced in the 1860s have black backing, those after 1870 are brown; the difference resulting from changes in the japanning process used to prepare the sheet iron.77

47 On rare occasions a "cameo" tintype will be found in a collection. These are recognized by the oval-shaped convexity on which the portrait is displayed. The finished picture is pressed with a convex the with no noticeable distortion to the image. Cameo cartes-de-visite date from ca 1868 to 1875. Cameo tintypes probably date likewise. They were popular primarily in North America.

48 It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the conservation of tintypes. Readers should contact conservators of photographs for any concerns; however, a few points are outlined here. Compared with other forms of photography, very little information dealing specifically with ferrotype imagery or its conservation is available.78 The relative sturdiness of the tintype makes it easy to overlook its conservation requirements. What could possibly happen to a sheet of metal?

49 Photographing and recording the image should be the first priority of the collector. Copy procedures are extremely simple and have been carried out for over one hundred years.79 The surrogate image can be handled freely while the original is properly housed for long-term preservation. The copy photograph has untold advantages — it can be enlarged, enhanced, even tinted or coloured. Best of all, it can be replaced.

50 Photocopying a tintype results in a very poor image quality; it doesn't warrant such use. Abrasion can also occur with the collodion or emulsion face down onto the copiers' glass (or any other surface for that matter), and is therefore discouraged. Other problems include the collodion binder commonly deteriorating along outer edges, and the deformation or bending of the plates themselves. Keep all tintypes away from drastic humidity changes and never wet a rusted tintype.

51 Always handle all artifacts, including tintypes, with gloves. Flaking tintypes should be handled with latex, not cotton, gloves to prevent snaring off flakes along the plates' edge by fibrous gloves.

52 Despite earlier prescriptions in the photographic literature, the author strongly advises against any cleaning except under the approval of a knowledgeable conservator. Evaluation of the image will decide whether one should proceed. There is the horror story of the conservator gently dabbing a tintype portrait and finding that the collodion had come off on the cotton swab. Unfortunately the cleaning began on the portrait's face!

53 Rust is one problem which is as likely to occur on either side of the tintype. Cursory microscope work indicates that much exposed rust appears to be hydrous ferric oxides (goethite-limonite assemblies) often with adsorbed water and components of the japanning lacquers (back) or lacquers, photosensitive chemistry and protective varnish (image side). Sandwiched between the metal plate and japanning lacquers, filiform rust expands and migrates causing a separation of the two layers. All of these oxides of secondary origin result from the alteration of the iron plate, through exposure to moisture, air, carbonic or organic acids, and the glues and paper components of the holders themselves. Calcareous papers may conceivably, under correct conditions, help generate rust. Contact a knowledgeable photographic conservator for advice. Do not attempt anything on your own.

54 Ideally any iron artifact should be kept in a pollutant-free environment with an RH (relative humidity) factor below 50 per cent. While low RH is important with tintypes, it should not drop below 30 to 25 per cent if the tintypes are bound with leather, paper or wood. These materials would invariably suffer. Tintypes with flaking collodion binder layers should be identified and housed flat to await conservation treatment. Often this flaking is caused by active corrosion of the japanned iron support. This can be controlled (but not impeded) by storage in a low RH environment.

55 For the encased image, removal may be subject to debate. These images are often in a "pinchbeck"/mat assembly which may require common sense but delicate handling procedures to open.80 It should always be assembled as initially observed. Broken cover glass must be replaced with modern glass of similar thickness. Tintypes are commonly housed in cartouche or "open window" carte-de-visite photo albums. The tintypes were slipped through the base slit in the album. Often the added thickness of a Potter's Patent sleeve makes it particularly awkward to remove. Again, consult the conservator. After appraisal of the situation, the conservator may decide whether removal from an album is warranted.

56 Proper storage materials are essential to long-term preservation of tintypes. Inexpensive archival folders with unbuffered paper are readily available through nationwide archival supply houses, or you can produce your own. Budget allowing, put 4 X 5-inch (10 cm X 12.7 cm) sheets of 2-ply acid-free conservation board into 4 X 5-inch (10 cm X 12.7 cm) polyethylene (or the heavier polypropylene) negative envelopes as stiffeners, and then insert the tintypes. This allows upright, uniform filing and quick visual inspection, and most common sizes of tintypes can be placed in a single file archival box or drawer. Record pertinent information on the backs of the board stiffeners with pencil, not ink! Protect slightly bent plates and "cameos" in a sink mat held together with archival tape in the same manner as loose daguerreotypes or broken glass plates — and store them flat. Use mylar "corners" to prevent movement of the "cameo."

57 A conservator should immediately be contacted if tintypes become submerged in water. Tintypes, wet-collodion negatives and ambrotypes have less than 24-hour stability after immersion and must be archivally cleaned and immediately air dried on an individual basis. Priority is based on image or historical importance.

58 It is commonly repeated that there is little artistry or craftsmanship found among tintype images. Admittedly, the poses are usually stilted and stock; backdrops and props are crudely artificial; and many show garish retouching. However, as memorabilia of sweethearts and families, holidays and vacations, tintypes have nostalgic charm. V. M. Griswold probably expressed it best when he stated:

59 Conservation of photographic material is a relatively new science. There are few old records to indicate early or previous preservation or restoration treatments and written records rarely accompany the images. Among its many treasures the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, holds an inconspicuous one-ninth plate-size tintype with only the bare silhouette of what was once a portrait. On the back of the plate, painted in red nail polish, is the inscription: "Washed off, (19)43, B."82 This short note pays eloquent testimony to the dangers of what seems like a simple treatment of images and the conscientious message to posterity, pointing out the need for careful, knowledgeable preservation. Archive collections generally overlook the tintype. No efforts are made to differentiate between wet-collodion and gelatin-based tintypes. It is hoped that research along those lines will lead to better methods of preventive care.

60 The mostly anonymous nature of tintype subjects, as of most images, is the photograph historian's greatest challenge. Information is quickly forgotten as generations pass on. Prairie Canada has a fascinating history. It is hoped that part of it will be rediscovered through the work of early itinerant photographers. Possibly we will one day find another tintype of John George "Kootnai" Brown83 hiding on someone's shelf.