How do you tell the difference between a daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintype? If you’ve been browsing through the Early Photography Collection of Rod MacKenzie, you’ve seen these three types of early photography many times. Here are four questions to ask the next time you’re trying to identify an early photograph.
Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes were the first three early photographic processes to gain widespread popularity. Developed in the mid-to-late 19th century, each successive technique improved upon the others in availability, affordability, and processing speed. Despite these improvements, each process produced a unique, one-of-a kind image–the only one!