The American Tintype

Two collectors of 19th-century photographia and a professor of photography, theater, and cinema (Ohio State U.) explore the uniquely American form of photography also known as melainotype and the ferrotype. Developed in Ohio, it flourished between 1861 and 1863 and was faster, cheaper, and more durable than the daguerreotype. It involved reproducing the photographic image on thin sheets of iron instead of glass. A century later they reveal details of hairstyles, clothing, and surroundings and a degree of relaxation that are lost from the more formal daguerreotypes of the time. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Two collectors of 19th-century photographia and a professor of photography, theater, and cinema (Ohio State U.) explore the uniquely American form of photography also known as melainotype and the ferrotype. Developed in Ohio, it flourished between 1861 and 1863 and was faster, cheaper, and more durable than the daguerreotype. It involved reproducing the photographic image on thin sheets of iron instead of glass. A century later they reveal details of hairstyles, clothing, and surroundings and a degree of relaxation that are lost from the more formal daguerreotypes of the time. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

One of the most intriguing and little studied forms of 19th century photography is the tintype. This title demonstrates how this inauspicious form of photography provides extraordinary insight into the development of national attitudes and characteristics in the formative years of the early modern era.

A collection of nineteenth-century tintypes in the collection of the author, with an introduction concerning the tintype as art.

"The previously untold story of 19th century painters and their influence on American photography during the tintype era. Never before examined in detail, the book contains over 75 rare, unpublished original tintype photographs from the Jim Linderman collection."~publisher's website.

Portraits. We know what they are, but why do we make them? Americans have been celebrating themselves in portraits since the arrival of the first itinerant portrait painters to the colonies. They created images to commemorate loved ones, glorify the famous, establish our national myths, and honor our shared heroes. Whether painting in oil, carving in stone, casting in bronze, capturing on film, or calculating in binary code, we spend considerable time creating, contemplating, and collecting our likenesses. In this sumptuously illustrated book, Richard H. Saunders explores our collective understanding of portraiture, its history in America, how it shapes our individual and national identity, and why we make portraits - whether for propaganda and public influence or for personal and private appreciation. American Faces is a rich and fascinating view of ourselves.

The tintype is rooted in more than 150 years of photographic method. In this collection of extraordinary portraits, Timothy Duffy brings new vitality to this old form, capturing powerful images of musicians who represent the roots of American music. These American blues, jazz, and folk artists are living expressions of a cultural legacy, made and remade by everyday people and passed down through generations. In the hands of the people in Duffy's portraits, centuries-old traditions find new expression in this digital millennium. Likewise, Duffy's photographic techniques fuse old forms and the original collodion wet plates with modern lighting. In this collaboration between photographer and artist, music and image meet around a history of struggle, adaptability, and creativity. It is this ethos that Duffy captures in his tintypes. Some of the musicians in Duffy's photographs have found fame, but most have not. While the world finds inspiration in the grassroots creativity of these musicians, barriers of class, race, and place often keep them underacknowledged and obscured. But in these photographs, Duffy demands they be seen.