They were, however, replaced by Cabinet Cards soon enough, having been bigger in size (6.5 x 4,3 inches).Īnother vintage photography process to look out for is photogravure, a print-making process where a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatine tissue exposed to a film positive and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print. CDVs had great success, as they anticipated the concept of photo albums, and their most common subjects were, for example, Civil War soldiers. Carte de visite, or CDVs, came to existence in 1859 in France, in form of small 2,5 x 4 inches paper prints even more affordable than their predecessors. At about the same time, there were also tintype and stereoviews or stereographs, with the former being made usually by travelling photographers using a think sheet of iron and the latter simulated a 3D view and captured faraway places. This also means that they vary in quality, as some were handled better than others. Ambrotypes were less expensive to create, so their most common topic are family portraits from all social classes. Mid-1850s saw the rise of ambrotypes, a negative put on glass and placed against a black background, in order to make it look like a positive. Most daguerrotypes were studio portraits, on rare occasions they depict outdoor scenery, and the most popular example is the first authenticated photo of Abraham Lincoln, taken in 1846. Because they were affordable to an average person by the mid 1840s, they are quite numerous, but because of their fragile state, they are usually preserved in glass cases filled with chemical gas. Creating a quite contrasted image, with deep shadows and almost detail-less lights, this type of vintage photography gave no possibility of reproduction, hence you can only find original and unique daguerrotype photos. It is a copper plate covered with a thin layer of polished silver. Patented in 1822, Daguerrotype dominated the field of vintage photography until the mid-1850s, and today represent the most popular type among collectors. The first such commercial process was the daguerreotype, named after its inventor, Louis Daguerre. For a vintage photography collector, these are important, as they directly affect a photograph’s value, quality, scarcity and, of course, condition. Shepherd's daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln, 1846 Types of Vintage Photographyīefore the invention of film in the 1880s, which marked the beginning of a new era for photography, the medium relied of different types of processes in image-making. Left, we see a very detailed photogravure of writer Victor Hugo, dating 1875 and created by Comte Stanisław Julian Ostroróg, also known as Walery right is Nicholas H. Collecting vintage photography means preserving history, and for those who wish to start their own collection for financial gain too, there are a few things to know beforehand. Today, these photographs represent items of a great value because of their uniqueness, but also their particular flair and spirit that can never be created again. In fact, it is vintage photography we have to thank for having a very precise idea of what certain important 19th century people looked like, or how an event which, for example, took place almost two centuries ago went. But then came photography, aiming to do just that: transmit reality exactly as it is into a permanent visual statement. While the value and legacy of these works are indisputably immense, we can’t claim that they could serve as factual documents of their times - mainly because, after all, it’s art we’re talking about here, meaning that most of it was subjected to highly personal interpretation, and therefore it is not necessarily representing reality as it actually was. Until the year 1839, our only way to know what the world looked like was through artistic media such as painting, sculpture and drawing.
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