The following are some brief explanations of photographic terms used in this archive.

 

Albumen Prints

were the most common form of photograph in the 19th century. The albumen process, in which an emulsion containing egg whites was used to bind photo-sensitive silver salts onto the print's paper surface, predominated from its inception in 1850 until the rise of gelatin silver prints near the turn of the century. A "printing-out" process, an albumen print was made by placing the thin treated paper in direct contact with the negative (usually a glass plate with a collodion emulsion) and exposed to sunlight until the print's image was sufficiently dark. The resulting print was often treated with sulfur and gold-chloride to preserve the image and impart a rich, warm purple-brown color. Albumen prints are commonly found mounted because they tended to curl and deform as they dried.

 

Cabinet Cards

are mounted prints of a type very common from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Usually of a standard size (4 1/2" x 6 1/2"), the cards themselves are made of thick, heavy Bristol board or pressboard and typically bear the markings of the photographic studios that created them. The photographs on most 19th century cabinet cards are albumen prints which have been contact printed from glass negatives. Most cabinet cards were portraits made in multiple and intended to be given to friends and family.

 

Gelatin Silver Prints

Unlike the albumen print, which is a printing-out process, the gelatin print is a developing-out process. After a brief exposure to a negative (under an enlarger), the print is immersed in chemicals to allow the image to develop, or emerge fully. Typically, the photographic materials in a gelatin silver print are extremely sensitive to light. Gelatin silver prints replaced albumen prints as the most popular photographic process by 1895 because they were much more stable, did not have a tendency to yellow, and were far easier to produce. Silver gelatin prints were printed from glass negatives too, at first, contact printed just like albumen prints w/o developing (the difference being the silver gelatin instead of albumen?) initially developing-out paper was used for enlargements -- since contact printing couldn't enlarge images. Silver gelatin prints are most commonly made from enlarging from gelatin or nitrate negatives onto developing-out paper which needs to be developed, then fixed. The gelatin-silver developing out process produced the first 'black and white' photographic image. Most earlier photographs had a warm, soft, sepia color. As it was developed with chemicals, the gelatin-silver developing out produced steely, cool colors. Actually, the image is not entirely black and white. There often is bluish, greenish, or even brownish tint, but usually the overall affect is different from the earlier warm, fuzzy colors. These early prints had a tendency to 'silver,' especially at the edges. Silvering is when it appears as if the silver has come to surface, and appears on the above photograph. It is often more noticeable when viewed at a specific angle to the light. The image often also suffers from fading. Under magnification the fibers of the paper cannot be seen. A clear layer of gelatin was placed over the image in part for protection. This hides the fibers from view. Gelatin-silver prints could be printed on many different papers. Most photographic paper at the time was of paper fiber and 'single weight.' Single weight was a thin paper. Today's heavier 'double weight' wasn't introduced until about 1940. The gelatin-silver developing out prints could be mounted or unmounted. Unmounted studio photographs often had the studios stamp on the back or front. These prints came in a wide variety of sizes, including large sizes rarely made with other processes. Popular styles include the cabinet card and imperial cabinet cards. Most real photo postcards and black and white snapshots used this process. Overview The gelatin-silver printing process replaced the printing out process as the most popular form of photography. It was popular from 1905 to about 1960, and is still sometimes used today. As it is the most modern process discussed in this book, it is the easiest and most commonly reproduced. New prints can be made from vintage negatives. Early prints can be difficult to authenticate as original. Most reproductions are photographs of famous people or scenes. The collector should look for typical wear and silvering, and see if the photographic paper is vintage. While single-weight, paper-fiber photographic paper is still available today, it doesn't have quite the same 'feel.' * * * * Gelatin-silver Printing Out and Collodin Printing Out Prints Duration: 1880-1910. Popular Duration: 1895-1905 Availability: above average to plentifu Identification The above are two distinct photographic processes. They are, however, nearly indistinguishable from each other and were produced during the same period, so they can be conveniently grouped together. Upon first appearance, these photographs often look much like albumen prints. They have similar 'warm' colors of browns, yellows, purples and reds. They also exhibit similar deterioration, with yellowing and foxing. As a thin clear layer of gelatin was put over the image for protection, the fibers of the paper cannot be seen under magnification. The paper fibers can be seen with the albumin print. The paper is thin, yet more substantial than the albumen paper, and did not have to be mounted. Many were mounted, including cabinet cards and imperial cabinet cards. Unlike with albumen prints, enlargement was possible and many large sizes were made. Many early real photo postcards used this process. Overview The gelatin-silver printing out process replaced the albumen process as the popular form of photography. Its popular use was from 1895 to 1905, when it was replaced by the 'black and white' gelatin-silver developing out process.

 

Mounted Prints

were very common before non-curling gelatin silver prints were perfected; the majority of mounted photos in the 19th century were thin albumen prints which needed a stout backing to prevent deformation. Types of early mounted prints included cabinet cards (4 1/2" x 6 1/2") which were mounted on heavy stock, and smaller, thinner cartes-de-visite (2 1/2" x 4"). Mounted prints in other sizes fall into a number of categories, including Imperial cards (9 7/8" x 7 7/8"); panel cards (7 1/2" x 13", 4" x 8 1/4" or 1 3/4" x 5 1/4"); and boudoir cards (5 1/2" x 8 1/2"). Studio portraits from the early 20th century are usually mounted gelatin silver prints; the cardstock backings on which these photographs were mounted were produced in a great variety of embossed designs. Most studio-made mounted photographs bear the imprint or stamp of the studios which produced them.

 

Nitrate Negatives

 

Paper Prints

are the most common form of photographs today. Whereas daguerrotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes are complete stand-alone photographs exposed only once (in the camera), paper prints are made from a negative which prints onto specially treated paper during a subsequent exposure. The vast majority of early paper prints are either albumen prints (predominant until 1900), or gelatin silver prints (the process which is still in use today). Until the early 20th century almost all paper prints were found mounted.

Albumen prints and the first gelatin silver prints used printing-out papers, that is to say the image was produced on the paper by putting the negative and paper directly in contact with each other. Later, gelatin silver prints were made with a developing-out process (as they are today) in which chemical development brings out the image on the paper.

 

Penny Photographs

 

Photo Postcards

 

Size 116 Roll Film

 

Size 120 Roll Film

 

Tintypes

(also called ferrotypes) employ a durable sheet of "tin" -- actually iron -- to stiffen and support the photographic image. (Tintypes were the successors of ambrotypes, which used more fragile glass plates as a support medium). In the tintype process, first in use in the 1850s, a thin iron plate was treated with a light-sensitive liquid collodion emulsion. A single large plate could be used in a camera with multiple lenses to produce up to twelve images which were individually cut from the full plate with tinsnips. A thin coat of clear lacquer was often brushed over the image, with black lacquer on the reverse to protect the exposed metal from oxidation; they were then usually mounted either in thermoplastic cases or paper folders. Common tintype sizes: full plate (6 1/2" x 8 1/2"), half plate (4 1/2" x 5 1/2"), 1/4 plate (3 1/8" x 4 1/8"), 1/6 plate (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"), 1/9 plate (2" x 2 1/2"), 1/16 plate (1 5/8" x 2 1/8"), and "gem" (1/2" x 1").

Tintypes were usually made in multiples intended to be given to family members and friends. Their low cost, their durability (Civil War soldiers often brought tintypes with them), and the speed with which they could be produced (tintypes are widely considered the first "instant" photographs) made them very popular, particularly with working-class Americans. The advent of tintypes helped make photography a viable means of employment for hundreds of travelling photographers who trekked across the American countryside with their photographic gear and set up studio tents at carnivals and boardwalks. Tintypes' popularity waned as traditional paper prints became more common around the turn of the century, although tintypists could be found as late as the 1930s at county fairs and similar venues.