Figure 1.--We know a good deal about American tin-types. This tin-type is undated, but we believe was taken in the early-1860s. Early tin-types wre hanfled much like Dags and Ambros. The hair look like the 1850s, but the gilded edging and clothes suggest the 1860s. We have been able to find out very little about European tin-types. They seem much less common than American tin-types.

We have foind quite a number iof America tinj-types from the 1860s, but very few from Europe. We note American tin-types in the early-1860s with the protective cases and gilded edges , but this was not very common by the end of the decade. The case would cost more than the actual portrai so by the end of the War they began to disappear. They were replaced by paper folders about the size of the CDV. Instead of an expensive glass cover, the photographer would cover the tintype with a quick varnish. A tint was often added to the cheeks, lips, jewelry, and or buttons. Tin-types and other photographic processes (Daguerreotyoes, Ambrotypes, and albumen prints) were widely availble in America by the 1860s. This was of course just in time for the Civil War. Tntypes gained widespread popularity as keepsakes for Civil War soldiers and their families. Civil War tin-types are commonly one-sixth and one-fourth plate sizes. They often came with Potter's Patent paper holders which were decorated with printed patriotic stars and emblems. The paper holders after 1863 were embossed rather than printed. Some uncased tintypes have been found with Revenue Stamp which would mean 1864-66 as provided by the Retail Tax Act. A factor here is that the stamps did not as permanely adhere to a metal surface. By the end of the decde, the albumen print (CDVs and cabinent cards) had emerged as the most popular photographic process. Tin-types unlike Dags and Ambros did not dissapear. In the 1960s, especially after the Civil War, we begin to see some of the same elaborate backgrounds that were used for CDVs and cabinent cards. A new type of tin-type appeared in the 1860s--the Gem portrait. These were very small portraits (7/8 by 1 inch), about the size of a postage stamp. They were made possible by invention of the Wing multiplying cameras (1863). They were marketed as Gem portraits. Gem Galleries appeared in the 1860s. A customer could obtain large numbers of portraits, albeit small, to send to family and friends at a very low cost. The tiny likenesses proved to be popular and at what proved to be the lowest prices in studio history. Gem Galleries flourished until about 1890, at which time the invention of roll film and family cameras made possible larger images at modest cost. It was no longer necessary to visit a studio that specialized in the tiny likeness. Gem portraits were commonly stored in special albums with provision for a single portrait per page. Slightly larger versions also existed. Some Gems were cut to fit lockets, cufflinks, tie pins, rings and even garter clasps.

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Created: 12:52 AM 1/23/2014
Last updated: 12:52 AM 1/23/2014