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Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Tintype

A wet collodion positive made on a thin sheet of blackened iron, producing a cheap, durable, unique image.

In depth

Also called a ferrotype, it uses the same chemistry as wet plate but on a dark metal support, so the thin negative image reads as a positive against the black backing. Tintypes were tough, quick and cheap, which made them the photograph of the street fair and the battlefield rather than the studio.

Examples in practice

A Civil War soldier's tintype could be made in minutes, survive a pocket, and be posted home without a frame.