A tintype of a man leaning against a post.

Tintype, also melainotype and ferrotype, is a photographic process invented in the United States in 1856 by Hamilton Smith, professor at Kenyon College, in Ohio, who patented the process on February 19, 1856. A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Hamilton Lanphere Smith ( November 5, 1819 - 1903 was an American Scientist, photographer and Astronomer. Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of the The Episcopal Church Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads It was first called melainotype, and then ferrotype (by a rival manufacturer of the iron plates used); finally came the name tintype. All three names describe both the process and the resulting photograph. ^[1]

Tintypes are made by a wet-plate process, in which the photographic emulsion is contained in liquid collodion. The collodion process is an early photographic process which was quickly replaced at the end of the 19th century with today's gelatin emulsion process An emulsion ( IPA: /ɪˈmʌlʃən/ is a mixture of two Immiscible (unblendable liquids Collodion is a solution of Nitrocellulose in ether or Acetone, sometimes with the addition of Alcohols Its generic name is pyroxylin solution The ambrotype was the first wet-plate collodion process, invented by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851 and introduced in the United States by James Ambrose Cutting in 1854. The ambrotype process (from Greek ambrotos, "immortal" or amphitype is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic For people named Fred Archer (including the unrelated 20th-century photographer see Fred Archer. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the James Ambrose Cutting (1814-1867 was a 19th century American photographer and the inventor of the Ambrotype photographic process

While the ambrotype remained very popular in the rest of the world, the tintype process had superseded the ambrotype in the United States by the end of the Civil War. The ambrotype process (from Greek ambrotos, "immortal" or amphitype is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic The ambrotype process (from Greek ambrotos, "immortal" or amphitype is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South It became the most common photographic process until the introduction of modern, gelatin-based processes and the invention of the reloadable amateur camera by the Kodak company. Eastman Kodak Company ( is an American multinational Public company which produces imaging and photographic materials and equipment Ferrotypes had waned in popularity by the end of the 19th century, although a few makers were still around as late as the 1950s and the images are still made as novelties at some European carnivals.

The tintype was a minor improvement to the ambrotype, replacing the glass plate of the original process with a thin piece of black-enameled, or japanned, iron (hence ferro). The ambrotype process (from Greek ambrotos, "immortal" or amphitype is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic Japanning is a word originating from the 17th century used to describe the European imitation of Asian Lacquerwork, originally used on Furniture The new materials reduced costs considerably; and the image, in gelatin-silver emulsion on the varnished surface, has proven to be very durable. Like that of the ambrotype, the tintype's image is technically negative; but, because of the black background, it appears as a positive. Since the tintype 'film' was the same as the final print, most tintype images appear reversed (left to right) from reality. Some cameras were fitted with mirrors or a 45-degree prism to reverse (and thus correct) the image, while some photographers would photograph the reversed tintype to produce a properly oriented image.

Tintypes are simple and fast to prepare, compared to other early photographic techniques. A photographer could prepare, expose, develop, and varnish a tintype plate in a few minutes, quickly having it ready for a customer. Earlier tintypes were often cased, as were daguerreotypes and ambrotypes; but uncased images in paper sleeves and for albums were popular from the beginning. The daguerreotype (original French daguerréotype) is an early type of Photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly

Ferrotyping is a finishing treatment applied to glossy photo paper to bring out its reflective properties. Newly developed, still-wet photographic prints and enlargements that have been made on glossy paper are Squeegeed onto a polished metal plate called a ferrotyping plate. A squeegee or squilgee is an onomatopoetically -named Tool with a flat smooth Rubber blade used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a When these are later peeled off the plate, they retain a highly reflective gloss.

References

External links

• Wet Plate Forum Board
• A Contemporary Ferrotype - aka Tintype