PHOTOGRAPHS
Unknown photographer
Untitled portrait
1850
Tintype print
4 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. (11.4 x 15.6 cm) image and sheet size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection
FA 2001.170

Tintypes like this group portrait (c. 1850) demonstrate a uniquely American photographic technology that was more popular here than anywhere else.

In 1856, the emergence of the tintype further intensified the competition amongst photographers. Soon all socioeconomic classes took advantage of this more egalitarian technology by offering likenesses that compared to those produced by upscale studios. Despite its name, a tintype contained no tin but was actually an inexpensive iron plate. The misnomer was simply meant to imply affordability. Whereas the daguerreotype catered to the upper and middle classes, the tintype was extremely cheap, durable, and easier to process. In 1853, top-tier studios charged as much as $2.00 for a medium-sized daguerreotype, while a mere 50 cents could purchase a tintype.

Most top-echelon photographers viewed the tintype with relative contempt. They called it a “disgrace to the profession” and a threat to the “art“ of portraiture. Likewise, photographic journals exaggerated the unsavory qualities of those who sat for tintypes. As far as critics were concerned, studios that catered to such unsophisticated clients were dilapidated “factories” run by “two shilling” or “blue bosom” operators. The latter invective was quite common and referred to sloppy workmanship that sometimes left subjects’ shirt fronts blue rather than white. But despite this concerted disparagement, the enticement of affordability was simply too powerful. Tintypes gained widespread popularity and found their way into many family albums and cases.

Group portraits such as this were a financial boon for tintypists, who typically added a charge of 25 cents for each person in the group. And even though early camera shutters required absolute stillness to avoid blurring, obedient dogs were often included in portraits. As a result, slight movement is detectable in the shaggy but well-groomed pet, as well as in the man on the far left.

-- Label copy for From Public to Private: The Evolution of Portrait Photography in Everyday American Life (1850-1900), March 10 to June 10, 2012.