Antique photography opens a door to the past and gives us a glimpse into the lives of people who walked the earth before we did. There are as many reasons to collect the different varieties of antique photos as there are examples! Step back in time through the cabinet card, cdv, tintype, ambrotype, or daguerreotype.

What kinds of antique photos are there?

As the techniques of the photographic process changed and improved, different types of photographs were available to the public to preserve their likenesses. What kind would you like to collect?

Daguerreotype The dawn of popular photography arrived in 1839 with the daguerreotype image. Though an earlier process, the calotype, had been invented in 1835, it was the "dag," invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839, that excited the public and brought our ancestors to the new studios that opened primarily in the larger cities. The daguerreotype photographer was a true artist, and needed significant skills to create the one, non-reproduceable image. The daguerreotype produced a direct positive image by coating a copper plate with silver, polishing it, then exposing it to iodine vapors to make it light sensitive. The plate was placed went into the camera, was exposed, then heated over mercury. The result was a very sharp & detailed image. Wrinkles, lines, muscles, wounds are all keenly delineated. You will often get the feeling that the subject in a dag will step out of the image and come to life!  Dags  were delicate and easy to damage. Thus, the daguerreotype was the most expensive type of image to buy then as it is now. The daguerreotype is a startlingly realistic form of early photography.  You can recognize a daguerreotype by the mirrored appearance to its surface.

Ambrotype The ambrotype became available in the mid 1850s, and reached a wider segment of the population because they were easier to create and less expensive. An ambrotype can share some of the realitic characteristics of the dag, though there is a wider range of quality. Ambros were made by applying a collodion solution to a plate of glass. A negative image was created when the plate was exposed. The photographer would then place black paper or other material behind the image. Pop! The image appears. Ambrotype portraits, because they were cheaper and easier to produce than dags, represent a larger cross-section of society and the social classes than the more expensive dags. Rich and poor alike had their images taken as ambrotypes. Many a Civil War soldier carried an ambro or cdv of his beloved wife, children, parents, or friends among his wartime effects.

Carte de Visite or cdv images, belong to the group known as "card photographs" because the albumen print (a mixture of egg whites, sodium chloride, and silver nitrate) was mounted on  paper cards. The cdv image became available in the mid-1800s and stayed popular until the late 1800s, although its heyday was the Civil War period. (Collectors appreciate the tax stamp that was affixed to the Civil War images, a proof of the tax paid during this period on images and a mark of the time period that the photo was taken in- 1864 to 1866. You can also find amrotypes and tintypes with these stamps.)  A cdv is sized 2 1/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches. The cdv made photographic portraits available to even more of the public. Props started to appear in portraits, and photographs of children were especially popular.

Cabinet Card images are a larger form of card photograph, and measure 6 1/2" x 4 1/4". The "cab card" first appeared in the mid 1860s and all but replaced the cdv image as the century drew to a close. Other card images, similar to cab cards, included the Imperial card (9 7/8" x 7 7/8"). The larger size and greater detail appealed to the public, and cab cards (as well as cdvs) were frequently taken at Christmas time to send to friends and family

Tintype images appeared on the scene is the mid-1850s, and remained popular until the end of the 1800s. A collodion solution was applied to a sheet of lacquered metal. Presto! A positive image. Cheaper and easier to produce, the tintype allowed more people to have their portraits quickly taken. Itinerant photographers travelled the country in carts and railroad cars bringing the tintype to even very rural and poor areas. You can recognize a tintype by its metal plate, as opposed to the glass of the ambrotype and dag. Unlike those types of images, however, the tintype does not have quite the crisp details. Yet there were some very talented tintype creators that worked wonders with the medium and produced remarkable resolution and clarity.

While there were other types of images available, such as the Cyanotype, these groups represent the types of photography most frequently collected.

Now that you have some idea of the kinds of photos to explore, what kind of subjects can you hunt down for your collection? Start your own Victorian photo album!

• Portraits were the most common type of photo taken throughout the history of photography. Relatives and friends shared images of themselves dressed in the latest fashions. Take a look at the variety of portraits in cdvs and cab cards and tintypes. Many collectors search for ladies dressed in big, beautiful civil war dresses or Victorian bustle dress. Others enjoy the Victorian gentlemen with their enormous mustaches  For those interested in genealogy, the most desirable portrait is identified by name, and perhaps date and relationship. Perhaps your fancy is odd hairstyles, jewelry, or pictures of adorable babies or children  or the postmortem   The possibilities are endless! Scan the antique photographs category on Ebay to see the wide variety available.

• Pets were treasured family members then as they are today. People loved to have photos taken of their beloved dogs  cats, horses, birds. Explore the animal kingdom on Ebay, and find the rare and unusual!

• The  Civil War is of particular interest to many vintage photo collectors, and the variety of material to collect is exciting. Find the soldier   the battles  the guns. 
• Interesting photographer backmarks can depict everything from animals to lovely decoration to cameras.
• Occupational images show people at work, in uniform, or with tools of their trade.

We've only touched on some of the collecting interests here. Now the fun starts.

 Explore the "pictures from the past" on Ebay, one of the largest sources at antique photography in the world, and discover some rare gems from our history.