Biographies of Western Photographers by Carl Mautz, is a highly detailed exhaustive document / listing of frontier photographers of the 19th century. It is 604 pages and belongs in the library of people who are serious researchers.
I have been collecting cart de visite's, tintypes, ambrotypes and RPPCs for over 30 years. In recent years, I've had the unique pleasure of investigating, identifying and connecting antique photos to their home locations and donating them to their respective state historic societies. I've also been able to identify other photos of people and updated their grave profiles on Find a Grave. This aspect has added to my genealogical pursuits and helped me to sharpen my research skills and to develop an eye for the backstory on many photos that have come into my possession. It is, however, not an exact science, and it sometimes requires the hunch of a gumshoe. It's also an endeavor which requires some financial investment, though there are many free resources available. For those interested in early American frontier photographers like me, should pick up a copy of the book "Biographies of Frontier Photographers" by Carl Mautz. This publication is a 604-page exhaustive document with the names and locations of hundreds of frontier photographers. I've also listed some resources here, this is by no means an exhaustive list and true photo investigations sometimes take a state by state, county by county search for documentation and it may also require finding family members that are connected to the photos. It's worth noting, as a warning, that photo investigations can also have a controversial, and emotional edge when it comes to family members and protective owners who assume control of certain photos that come into their possession. In my personal experiences, and I have encounter many, emotions can run high in this area, and sometimes reactions include, hostility, protectionism, rejection and even threats. But for me, it's still worth those pitfalls when it comes to revealing the stories that old photos can tell.
(I corrected Morgan Earps photo on Find a Grave)
(Article on this blog)
(Articles on this blog about my photo investigations)
(My studio)
RESOURCES
(Great resource)
(Requires a subscription)
(Good listing, very basic)
(A time- honored resource for genealogists)
(Dealer of antique photos)
GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY RESOURCES
(Military Photos)
(Upper Mississippi collection)
GLOSSARY OF PHOTO PROCESSES
ALBUMEN PRINT
Positive photographic print made on paper coated with eggwhite and salt solution which is sensitized with silver nitrate solution. Prints were made by exposing the paper to sunlight through a negative.
AMBROTYPE
A glass collodion positive patented in the United States in 1854 by James Cutting.
CABINET CARD
Essentially a larger (4 1/2" x 6 1/2") version of the carte-de-visite, this popular format supplanted the carte-de-visite by the late 1870s, although the first cabinet card photographs appeared in 1866 in England. Primarily a medium for portraiture, the cabinet card dominated commercial photography until the turn-of-the-century.
CALOTYPE (also called TALBOTYPE)
The first successful negative/positive process invented by William Henry Fox Talbot and patented by him in 1841. This process entailed exposing paper sensitized with potassium iodide and silver nitrate in a camera and developing the negative in gallic acid and silver nitrate. Prints were made by the contact method in daylight on paper sensitized with salt and silver nitrate.
CARBON PRINT
Prints produced by exposing a negative against a pigmented gelatin tissue sensitized with potassium bichromate. The surface of the tissue hardens in relation to the amount of light received and when washed, leaves a positive image which is permanent.
CARTE-DE-VISITE
A format developed by Disderi in Paris and patented in 1854 consisting of a 2 1/2" by 4 1/2" mounted photographic print. The primary format for portraiture from the beginning of the Civil War to the late 1870s, the carte-de-visite is referred to often as "cdv" by collectors today. The format continued to be made up to the turn-of-the-century, but was eclipsed in popularity by the larger cabinet card.
COLLODION PROCESS
A process for making negatives involving a glass plate coated with a light sensitive emulsion of gun cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether and mixed with potassium iodide and potassium bromide. Also known as the wet plate collodion process.
CYANOTYPE
A print made with a paper impregnated with iron salts and potassium ferricyanide, creating an image where the darks are blue. Popular paper from the 1890s to WWI.
DAGUERREOTYPE
The first practical photographic process introduced in Paris in 1839 by one of it's inventors, Louis Jaques Mande' Daguerre. The process required a silver coated copper plate which was sensitized with vapors of iodine and developed in mercury fumes after exposure in a camera. The images produced were one-of-a-kind and often beautiful although reflective like a mirror. Being very delicate to touch or the atmosphere, they were sealed and encased in glass, brass mat and leather case.
DRY PLATE
The successor to the wet plate collodion process, dry plates were glass sheets coated with silver halides suspended in gelatin. These pre-prepared negative plates supplanted the wet plate process by the 1880s.
FERROTYPE (also TINTYPE or MELAINOTYPE)
A positive photographic image appearing on a thin sheet of varnished iron which has been sensitized with collodion. A very popular format which competed with the carte-de-visite from the late 1850s through the 1870s, finally becoming a novelty format in use at fairs and amusement parks to the 1930s.
POSTCARD
The photographic postcard became common just after the turn of the century. Beginning in 1902, Eastman Kodak and other manufacturers marketed postcard format photographic paper that was sensitive enough to print under artificial light. This simplified the process of printing photographic negatives and further encouraged both amateur and commercial production of photographic postcards. It was the widespread use of the postcard format in the hands of both professionals and amateurs that continued the visual recording of culture begun by stereoviews.
STEREOVIEW (also STEREOGRAPH)
A pair of views taken at slightly different angles and mounted side by side. Viewed separately by each eye in a stereoviewer, the two images merge to create the illusion of three dimensions. This format was used early in the daguerreotype era and increased in popularity when paper prints became the standard, eventually becoming an item of amusement in virtually every household in America. It is through this format that 19th century culture can be visually witnessed.
A "Mint Condition" Cabinet Card
