POTW: Tintype

[Portrait of two women, one man and eight children on the beach], circa 1890, V1981.283.1.63; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Tintypes are hard to miss if you come across one in person. They are thin iron (not tin) plates typically with a blackish or brownish hue and crisp detail.  They were invented in 1854, and gained popularity in the 1860s as an inexpensive and accessible photographic method. Tintypes were less expensive and easier to make than their predecessor, daguerreotypes. For the first time, families could afford to have their portrait taken and to send the plates to friends and family. Tintype studios began as a formal process in photographic studios, but later were introduced as novelty items at fairs or amusement parks in mobile booths or open air (as depicted in this scene).

Tintypes lost popularity in the late 1860s as paper photographic methods were introduced, however, they continued as a novelty well into the early 20^th century. In fact, our collections show that the novelty was quite popular at Coney Island, though its unclear where this photograph was taken. The photo of the week is a tintype depicting men, women, and children on the beach, sometime around 1890. The identities and location of the photograph are unknown.  Today, tintypes and other nineteenth century photographic methods are seeing a renaissance. You can get a tintype taken if you visit the Tintype Studio at the Penumbra Foundation.

This photograph comes from the Burton family papers and photographs collection that consists of papers and photographs of William W. Burton, his wife Virginia Baptista Burton, their son and daughter-in-law Percival Burton and Josie E Newcombe Burton, and the Newcombe family. The collection of 189 photographs from 1870-1949 range in photographic formats including cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and prints and are mostly portraits of the Burton family. To view more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org