Early photography, difference between Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, & tintype

for Rod

[@jsturo]

Nice video! I like the way you point out the highly reflective quality of Daguerreotypes - they were referred to as "mirrors with memory" back in the day. They were popular from their introduction in 1839 till about 1860. In the early 1850's the much cheaper to produce Ambrotype made it's debut, eventually superseding the Daguerreotype in popularity, although they too would fall out of favour and cease production around 1865. The Ferrotype, or Tintype, as it's commonly known, was introduced in the mid-1850's and became widely popular because they were so durable, they didn't need the protection of a case and could be mailed in a letter. Tintypes are made on sheets of iron and contain no tin, thus, an easy way to check an image to determine if it is a Tintype is to simply place a magnet on the back - if it sticks, it's a Tintype. Here's a link to a little video/slideshow that I put together showing some of my Daguerreotype collection. I hope you will enjoy it. Let me know what you think. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpOUh2mYqtujfac

[@andrewgarratt5191]

Well thanks!, as it turns out the Daguerreotype type I have is actually an Ambrotype 😅 I seen an image once on milk glass… I wanted it, but the antique store was VERY proud of it.

[@tidalboxer]

I’ve seen the ambrotypes (I think) with ruby color glass. I wonder what the difference is. I think it was image on the glass with a ruby glass background or something. It looked black and white all put together though.

[@aaronfrick2264]

Super helpful my friend. I was really struggling on finding good photos of the backs of dags vs. tins. This really helped me solve the mystery fast. Thankfully I had at least one that was a Ruby Ambrotype. Also thank you for clarifying the Guetta Percha, hopefully more collectors will see this and know that that term is incorrect. Nice job!

[@justinbushaw]

Thank you for the informative vidya. I am surprised at how many dealers are selling ambros as dags. I just bought a dag but it is indeed an ambro and I checked out the sellers past sales and he's been selling ambros as dags for a long time. When this happens I always request a partial refund, or just return it for a full refund. It's a bummer when this happens but another thing that happens often is buying cased tintypes and finding out it's an ambro. The other day I bought a tin that turned out to be a ruby ambrotype. Can't complain about that!

[@mindluge]

people definitely sell tintypes as dags too

[@christinedickinson8608]

Thank you so much for your very informative video. Having recently acquired some boxed photos I watched your video and learnt I could take the photos out from their boxes to find out what sort of photo they were. . I did just that and found they were ambrotype. Regards Christine.

[@mindluge]

ooh, congratulations. would love to see them!

[@christinedickinson8608]

lost time Hi, thank you for your reply. My father died a couple of weeks before Christmas and they were with his belongings. I think they are probably my ancestors, probably a family. A man, two women and two boys. One of the boys is wearing a kilt. I found out they were ambrotype after watching your video and saw how easily you got them out from their cases. I also have another picture which I suspect may be an ambrotype, but it is not in a box and has a tape holding it in place, although the bottom piece of tape is missing so I don’t know if I will be able to get it out. I would be happy to send you pictures if you have an email address. Regards Christine

[@mindluge]

@@christinedickinson8608 [e-mail]

[@alexmorales9065]

This was incredibly helpful! Thank you, Joe!

[@charlesfyler3878]

I'm overjoyed that someone loves this stuff as much as he. As a child, my father bought estate sales and we squirrelled away a great many of these early photos. I am impressed by Joe's knowledge and care.

[@lastcrateontheleft]

Interesting Joe, Thanks for educating me! -greg