From buying and selling photographs on eBay (and elsewhere) I realise many people have trouble identifying different types of photographs - If it is on glass is it a daguerreotype, ambrotype, or silver gelatin glass plate,

QUICK GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPH TYPES 

(listed alphabetically)

CONTENTS of TYPES COVERED

• Albumen Print

• Ambrotype    Tinted ambrotype in full case - note image goes right to edge of brass frame - it is not mirrorlike when held at this angle (Image below)

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•  Ambrotype, pinchbeck (gold coloured metal)mat and cover glass (Image below)

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• Rear of ambrotype - they are on glass with paint on the rear (sometimes no paint and a dark cloth behind). You can often see cracks or chips in the paint.(Image left)

• Cabinet Photo

• Calotype

• Carte de Visite

• Daguerreotype (be very careful about spelling this one when searching on eBay - to search for all those mispellings you need to use something like dag* as a search term.) Here you can see the mirror like appearance when held at an angle - also the very typical tarnishing around the edge (Image below)

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• Gelatin Print (Often labelled as Gelatine print)

• Opalotype

• Postcard Photo

• Tintype All these are tintypes - the one in a frame under glass can look like an ambrotype. A magnet held nearby will soon tell the difference as it will be attracted to a tintype. The rear of one can be seen at the bottom - it has a lacquer finish.(Image below)

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•  Rear of a tintype with a pichbeck frame. This one looks distinctly like a sheet of iron. (Image below)

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Albumen Print 1850 - 1900’s

Positive print on paper. Silver chemicals in a layer of egg white (albumen). Highlights go yellow in earlier prints. Later they were toned giving them a purplish brown tint which reduced the fading of the image. Tend to fade from edges inwards. Often used on CdVs and cabinet cards.

Ambrotype 1851 - 1880’s

(sometimes called a Collodiotype) Underexposed and sometimes bleached photographic negative on glass backed by black paper, dark velvet or black paint directly on the plate to make the negative appear positive. This was then mounted in a brass frame and placed in a papier-mâché or leather bound folding case or sometimes framed. Ninth, sixth and quarter plate sizes were all popular - half and full plate images are sometimes seen. (These are frequently described as Daguerreotypes on eBay and in antique shops as the cases are often the same).

Cabinet Photo

Paper photograph from glass plate negative mounted on card board mount 4 1/4" x 6 1/2" - popular from mid 1870’s - c.1905

Calotype

A paper print made from a paper negative. Pioneered by Fox Talbot, the calotype was introduced at the same time of the daguerreotype but never caught on in popularity. The image is not very sharp as the light is diffused when passing through the paper negative.

Carte de Visite (or CDV)

Paper photograph from glass plate negative mounted on card board mount 2 1/2" x 4" - popular from 1861-c.1895 There was sometimes a tissue paper folded over the photo for protection and this sometimes had advertising on it. There is often advertising on the rear for the photographic studio.

Daguerreotype

Invented by Louis Daguerre in 1837 and introduced to the world in 1839. The daguerreotype was produced on highly buffed silver coated on to a brass plate and cannot be easily viewed unless turned at the right angle. The image was mounted under a brass mat and glass and placed in a leather bound folding case (imported from the USA, France or England) or sometimes framed. Ninth, sixth, quarter and half plate sizes were the most popular - the former two being those most commonly found.

Gelatin Print 1880’s to present day.

Uses Gelatine (an animal protein) to support silver photosensitive chemicals. Highlights are white. Many paper weights thin airmail to thick card. (Image below)

Opalotype

Photograph on white opaque "milk" or "opal" glass. Commonly 12" x 14" and framed. Poplar from mid 1880s until 1920s.

Postcard Photo

Photograph on paper with printed post card back, so that it could be mailed if desired taking advantage of the penny post. This paper was used by professionals (where it was mainly used for studio portraiture or for views specifically for the postcard market) and by amateurs alike. Size 5" x 3 1/2" (There are also "Carbon prints" that were bulk printed from etched plates that are often also glazed to look very like a photograph but these are not strictly photographs.)

Tintype

Photograph on metallic tin, akin to an ambrotype. Produced in many sizes, the most popular being a small postage stamp sized tintype (gem tintype) which could be mounted in carte de visite sized cardboard frame (carte de visite tintype) or an unmounted carte de visite size (2½" x 3½" plate - so called sixth plate). Introduced in 1852 but popular 1879-1885.  Can often be checked with a magnet.

There are also rarer types of photographs such as: Calotypes, Talbotypes, Salted prints, waxed paper prints, carbon transfer, Woodburytype, platinum prints, gum bichromate, autochrome, bromoil, lantern slides, stereoscopic, cloth, ivorytype, and others.  I will add a more technical guide for rarer types in a future revision.

Any corrections, suggestions and improvements always welcome!