Figure 1.--Herecwe see a ther elbirate mount for a tin-type, we think in the early-70s. Bote that there is no studio or city information. By this time we vnmostly see inexpensive paper sleeves often done with framing lines and birders like early-CDVs. . .

American photographic portraits (Dags and Ambros) for the first two decades were primarily sold in cases. This was not true in in Europe, but was fairly standard in America. The cases were needed because the Dag metal sheet was esily cratched and Ambro glass was delicate. Both needed to be protected. The Ambro also neded a dark background which could be created in the case. This allows the underexposed negative image to appear as a positive. This convention was so common that early tin-types which first appeared in the mid-1850s were also provided cases. Americans after two decades of cased prints came to expect it. The iron sheet used for tin-types was not as delicaete and did not need the case for potection. After CDVs appeared, the cost of photography plummeted. The cases cost more thn the photographs so they quickly disappeared. We no longer see them after the early-60s. The tintypes were not not only as delicate as ambros so the cases were just not necessary and perhaps even more importantly cost more than the photograph itself cost. Thus in the 1860s we see uncased tintypes. First we see inexpensive versions of Dag and Ambro cases. Tin-types framed without the wooden case. Even the inexpensive framing mostly disappeared after the mid-60s. Dags and Ambros also disappeared, but not tin-types. They were as cheap as CDVs to produce and not delicate like Ambros and Dags. So instead of cases, we see studios packaging the tintypes in paper sleeves. We see embossed paper sleeves in high quality paper sleeves (1863), but soon inexpensive paper frames with ruling like CDVs appeared. We see some more elavorate mounts, but mostly we see inexpensice paper sleeves. We are not sure just when these inexpensive sleeves first appeared. We have not yet found any Civil War examples, but do note examples from the late-60s. A good example is an unidentified military academy student. This is a liitle complicated. We note what we a first thought was a tin-type photograph of unidentifid siblings in a sleeve, but seems more like a mount. Aat first glance we thought it was a 1860s-70s sleeve, but is clearly a 1910s portrait. And seems like mount. It can be dated by the children's clothes and the fact that the framing lines are not simple bands, but fancy designs.

Created: 5:48 AM 8/18/2022
Last updated: 3:15 PM 8/18/2022