Weekly 19th Vintage Photograph Case Study

	Weekly Case Study		Analysis of Old Photographs An examination and explanation of clues to establish the date of 19th century photographs.

This Week's Photograph - July 15, 2013

About the Case Studies

Photo Facts
Photo Type	Tintype
Case Size	2.5" x 3"
Plate Size	9th Plate
Border Style	NA
Sleeve	NA
Back Imprint	NA

Each week a new photo case study typical of old family photographs is published.

These examples can help genealogists learn the skills that will help date their own photos.

An estimated date (if one is not available) is assigned a +/- number of years it could be. Dating old photos is a science that provides answers usually within 2 - 6 years of when the photo was taken.

Front Side

Clues

Explanation

c. 1861 Tintype Click for Larger Image

This is a family heirloom, one of PhotoTree's g-g-grandmothers. She was born in 1808, died in 1880. So, if the picture was taken in around 1862, she would have been about 55 years old.

Case
Mat and Preserver

An Interesting Story

There is an interesting twist to this tintype, you may have similar stories to some of your family heirlooms.

But first, let's look at the deterioration this tintype has incurred over it's life. This is not uncommon.

Tintypes will frequently become darker and darker, to the point the image is almost totally black. There are several reasons this could happen, including poor practice by the photographer by not washing all the developing agents from the tintype. However, with software programs such as Photoshop, a restorer can bring the image back to life.

Est. Date: 1862 +/-2 year

See similar tintypes here.

Mat and Preserver

The brass mat and preserver (frame around the mat) are from 1860 forward. In about 1860 they became highly ornate, and were stamped out of thin, foil-like brass.

Case

The fact that the tintype was produced in a case immediately puts the photograph in the 1856 to early 1860s range. Cases ceased to be used by the mid-1860s.

Restored 1861 Tintype

Never discard an old photograph because you think it is beyond recovery or restoration. Technologies available today can be used to perform near-miracles on faded, dark, and damaged photographs. This tintype has experienced typical darkening over the years. But most of the image is still there, just difficult for humans to see it. We can bring it back to our visible spectrum of light.

Now, The Rest of the Story

This is a postcard created probably after 1910. It is a photograph of a large painting created from the tintype. The framed painting was placed outdoors for sufficient light to photograph. It is quite large, I have seen pictures of it held by others, showing the frame was nearly 3 feet tall.

This is probably still in some relative's possession, but I do not know where or with whom. Another mystery to solve sometime.

One of the ways paintings were created from photographs was to project the image onto a canvas, and the artist would paint over the projection. Since the tintype had no negative, a copy of the tintype was probably made onto a glass negative. Then, this could be projected onto a canvas.

Close inspection of the tintype and the postcard reveals the artist was very skilled. Almost exact detail was replicated, with improvement to skin and other surfaces.

An excellent likeness was painted using the original tintype as a guide.

Tintype close up on the left, photo of painting on the right.

You can become an expert at analyzing photographs.

Much of the information used to analyze this photograph is covered in the Identification section of this web site. In addition, comparison to similar yet dated photographs in the Gallery section will help confirm the estimates. Even greater detail, organized for this type of research is available in PhotoTree.com's books. Learn More.

Past Cases

Weekly Case Study

Analysis of Old Photographs