This is a nice pair of tintypes, most likely their wedding pictures. The images themselves are in excellent condition, even with the halo around the pictures from the brass mats.
Tintypes were not introduced into commercial photograph until 1856, but caught on quickly. They took advantage of the same cases, mats and brass frames as the daguerreotype and Ambrotypes. The technology for taking and developing tintypes was the same as ambrotypes which had been introduced two years earlier.
The mat and preserver (brass frame holding mat, glass, tintype together) all date pre-1859, when the mats become much thinner and ornate, and the preservers became highly ornate and were foil thin. These photos were most likely made in 1857 or 1858.
Both their clothes and styles match this era. Here medium sized white collar along with the hair snood were very popular in the late 1850s. His coat and tie match this era also. |
Tintypes were produce in cases much like daguerreotypes and ambrotypes up to the Civil War. Cost of brass and the labor to make the case became prohibitive during the war. Plus the tintypes did not need all that protection. Soon, the case disappeared and tintypes were delivered in paper sleeves. |