{"id":19195,"date":"2015-07-07T06:20:48","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T10:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=19195"},"modified":"2019-11-26T07:15:21","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T12:15:21","slug":"tintype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/07\/07\/tintype\/","title":{"rendered":"Tintype"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tintypecouple1\"<\/p>\n

Among the family photos I recently inherited – this tintype is the oldest – and in horrible\u00a0shape. According to Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

A\u00a0tintype<\/b>, also known as a\u00a0melainotype<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0ferrotype<\/b>, is a\u00a0photograph<\/a>\u00a0made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the\u00a0photographic emulsion<\/a>. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s, but lesser use of the medium persisted into the early 20th century and it has been revived as a novelty in the 21st.<\/p>\n

Tintype portraits were at first usually made in a formal photographic studio, like\u00a0daguerreotypes<\/a>\u00a0and other early types of photographs, but later they were most commonly made by photographers working in booths or the open air at\u00a0fairs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0carnivals<\/a>, as well as by itinerant sidewalk photographers. Because the lacquered iron support (there is no actual\u00a0tin<\/a>\u00a0used) was resilient and did not need drying, a tintype could be\u00a0developed and fixed<\/a>\u00a0and handed to the customer only a few minutes after the picture had been taken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So basically, tintypes were the old timey version of a Polaroid. The name tintype came from the tin shears were used to cut the plate. The most common size of these photos, like mine, are\u00a02 1\/2 x 3 1\/2 inches. \u00a0Unfortunately, I’m not sure\u00a0who these people are – I’ll have to post it to various spots\u00a0and run it past my cousins. I’ll keep you updated. Original scan behind the cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tintypecouple2\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the family photos I recently inherited – this tintype is the oldest – and in horrible\u00a0shape. According to Wikipedia: A\u00a0tintype, also known as a\u00a0melainotype\u00a0or\u00a0ferrotype, is a\u00a0photograph\u00a0made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3113],"tags":[3442,2296,3627],"class_list":["post-19195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-photo-restoration-2","tag-family-photos","tag-photo-restoration","tag-tintypes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s1ed1x-tintype","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45816,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/03\/photo-elective-applying-lipstick\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":0},"title":"Photo Elective \u2022 Applying Lipstick","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Here\u2019s another\u00a0Photo Elective\u00a0shot by\u00a0Tina Garceau\u00a0of\u00a0Tina Garceau!\u00a0As I\u2019ve written before, all sophomore students majoring in illustration at\u00a0The Philadelphia College of Art were required to take a minor course in photography where the students would shoot and process 35mm black and white photographs. At the time, it seemed like a needlessly pricey\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photo Restoration"","block_context":{"text":"Photo Restoration","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/photo-restoration-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Lipstick-Tina.jpg?fit=800%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Lipstick-Tina.jpg?fit=800%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Lipstick-Tina.jpg?fit=800%2C518&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Lipstick-Tina.jpg?fit=800%2C518&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25621,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2019\/07\/29\/family-photo-restoration\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":1},"title":"Family Photo Restoration","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"July 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Slowly but surely, I've been scanning old family photos and restoring them. Judging from the style of the clothing, this portrait looks like it was taken in the teens. Also interesting is the woman on the left, who is wearing pince-nez glasses with a suspension chain which most likely connected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/TwoWomen2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25614,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2019\/09\/10\/photo-restoration-big-hats\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":2},"title":"Photo Restoration: Big Hats!","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"September 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Another family photo restoration - although I'm not certain if these folks are relations or friends of my grandparents. It looks like a special occasion - perhaps a wedding since they're dressed to the nines - the men in white ties, with corsages, gloves, and bowler hats. I did a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/OldPixTwo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/OldPixTwo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/OldPixTwo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16093,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2014\/04\/09\/a-photo-restoration\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":3},"title":"A Photo Restoration","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone has them - old photos or negatives that are faded, shoved in drawers, scratched, or damaged. Fortunately, they can be restored!\u00a0 One of the problems with this photo is the contrast - there are no absolute blacks and whites, and the women's facial features are blown out. There are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MarstonStreetFinal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MarstonStreetFinal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MarstonStreetFinal.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19347,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/07\/30\/positive-i-d\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":4},"title":"Positive I.D.","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"July 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm always posting old family photos with the line \"I have no idea who these people are\". People - write down names on the backs of your photos! \u00a0Fortunately, I've had amazing luck posting my photos to various Facebook groups, I've been able to identify people in my photos and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photo Restoration"","block_context":{"text":"Photo Restoration","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/photo-restoration-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/PorchOrig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/PorchOrig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/PorchOrig.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20082,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/12\/09\/all-aboard\/","url_meta":{"origin":19195,"position":5},"title":"All Aboard!","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"December 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Another restoration from my collection of old family photos. As usual, it's an unmarked photo - and I had no idea\u00a0what kind of uniform he was wearing. Initially, I thought he was a fireman in his dress uniform, but I noticed there was a number on his cap, and researching\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/FiremanOrig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/FiremanOrig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/FiremanOrig.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}