Tintypes from the Magee Album

Tintypes were made possible with the introduction of wet collodion. In the case of the tintype, the exposure is made on a thin sheet of metal with the result that the tones are reversed to create a positive image. Like the daguerreotype, the tintype is a direct positive image—there is no negative, and it therefore exists as a single, unique object.  

Because they are thin and light (unlike the daguerreotype), as well as durable, tintypes could be easily sent to loved ones through the mail. Many of the tintypes that survive today were portraits taken and circulated as mementoes.  

The tintypes shown here were gathered together into an album that has a back cover decorated with colourful clippings. The album forms part of the Magee Photograph Collection, along with another album in this exhibition that features cyanotypes and postcards.