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A BRIEF LOOK AT OBSCURE EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS

Many collectors are familiar with ‘the big three’ of solid-type photographs (early unique, photographs usually on solid sheets of glass or metal): Daguerreotype, ambrotype and tintype. Briefly covered here are closely related, but rare and obscure photographs you may never have heard of.

Most of these were most popular in the 19^th century and, as with the Daguerreotype and ambrotype, were usually held in special cases or frames.

IVORYTYPE

The ivorytype was a photographic image made on fake ivory. It usually was handpainted to have the appearance of a miniuature painting. It was invented in London in 1855 and was most popular in the mid to late 19^th century.

OPALTYPE

The opaltype is similar to the ambrotype and was popular in the late 1800s—with a photographic image on a pane of glass. While the ambrotype used clear or tinted glass, the opaltype used opaque white glass. The photographic image is usually a stark black and white, but was usually overpainted like with with ivorytype. This opaltype delicate, prone to breaks to the glass and smudging of the paint.

PHOTOGRAPHS ON LEATHER AND CLOTH

The same technology used to make ambrotypes and tintypes was occasionally used to make photographs on leather or cloth. The negative image (reverse tonally and laterally) was made on the black-painted material. Like other solid-types, it appears normal tonally (dark to light), but was reversed laterally (left to right). An advantage of photographs on leather and cloth is that they could easily be mailed. These types of photographs were most popular in the Civil War era.

OROTONE  

Orotone by Edward Curtis

The orotone— aka goldtone or Curtistone—is similar to an ambrotype—with the image on a pane of glass--, except the back of the glass is painted with real gold. This gives the picture a distinct golden appearance. These were prominant in the late 1880s and first few decades of the 1900s. Modern versions of the orotone are made today. Like Dasguerreotypes and ambrotypes, orotones were usually housed in special frames or cases.

While the other photographs described here are difficult to find, the the avid collector should find orotones with relative regularity. The most famous practitioner of this process was Edward Curtis, a turn of the century Seattle photographer. He produced thousands of orotones of American Indians.

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