ambrotype help

[rebelfirefighter07]

Re: ambrotype help

I had read on another site that the tin types were sealed and that if you took them apart they had to be resealed. It didnt seem to be sealed. Is there any truth to that or is it just mis information.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: ambrotype help

Hallo!

Of all the ones I have owned, or seen, none were "sealed."

However, some were "sealed" with varnish, which unfortunately as it aged darkened and blackened (as it does on old oil paintings).

Curt

Worthless Trivia: My grandfather had a tin type made at the age of seven in 1910.

[rebelfirefighter07]

Re: ambrotype help

Thank you all again you've been a great help. I believe I did pretty good for $20.

[minieball]

Re: ambrotype help

"I had read on another site that the tin types were sealed and that if you took them apart they had to be resealed. It didnt seem to be sealed. Is there any truth to that or is it just mis information."

Tintypes and ambrotypes were not sealed, per se. On the other hand, daguerreotypes were sealed to prevent oxidation of the pure silver coating that the image resides on. Original dag seals were done with a paper tape. There is a modern archival tape that can be used to reseal.

Tintypes and ambrotypes are coated with a clear photographic varnish after drying to protect the collodion. I use a period recipe photographic varnish on my plates. Generally all images were coated with this specialized varnish and of the thousands of original images I have examined most are exquisitely clear. IMHO I would attribute darkened extant images to extended exposure to UV over the intervening years which is extremely detrimental. Other possible causes include incorrect or low quality varnish, poor application technique or both. As it is with most service industries, there were good operators and then there were the rest :)

Images are mounted in cases in the following order: Image/thin gilded brass decorative mat/glass (same size as the image)/preserver (brass border). This is then carefully placed into the case. When mounted in a case the gilded brass mat provides an airspace between the protective glass and the image.

Hope this helps.

[Danny]

Re: ambrotype help

If of any help, I straightened up, tone-equalized and enhanced the detail in the photo as attached here. With evident contrast against the collar, I neither think she was wearing a black garment. I don't think the baby was surprised by any instant of the photo's taking, as this was not a flash-pan exposure but a time-lapse using natural light. The seeming "expression" of the baby is perhaps affected the baby's wiggling.

Dan Wykes

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: ambrotype help

Hallo!

Are we arguing color in B & W images? :)

Orthochromatic emulsions or film are not sensitive to all wave lengths of light. Those wave lengths do not activate, and appear as black(ish).

That is why say red or yellows can appear black. (A surprise on say some WWI images of airplanes that had German rubber tires that were red, pink, or yellow but appear black in the pictures.)

"Black" is a relative term. I have worn black shoes, black socks, black pants, black shirt, and black jacket where each garment when worn together appeared a slightly different intensity of black or blackness and not one uniform black. By themselves, I would call them all "black."

If anyone can look at what might have been an orthochromatic image and be able to categorically state that the "black" that is seen is not in life say red or yellow, they have my compliments.

;) :)

Curt
In total darkness, all colors are black Mess

[ElizabethClark]

Re: ambrotype help

Mr Wykes, there's where it gets tricky. With modern film, I'd likely agree that the dress may not be black. However, with period technology, it could well be black, just a different fabric than the ribbon (which is, as I've explained twice above, not a collar. It's a ribbon tie, and serves a wholly different purpose in women's clothing.)

For instance, black piled textiles, such as black velvet or velveteen, absorb light differently than do non-pile fabrics; sheer blacks "take" a different color than more translucent or opaque black textiles.

It is very possible that the ribbon tie (which could be black, or red, or yellow, or orange, or some shade of the three) is just photographing differently than the textile of the dress.

There's an excellent article on color and how it shows using period technology on the Mescher's website. Most instructive is a modernly-produced wetplate of Mr Mescher's vest... it photographs as entirely "different" colors depending on the portion of the single garment, and how that section reflects the light!

I'll reiterate: it's just not possible to make any kind of certain statement about color in period photography. We're free to speculate, but that's all it is.