GLASS PLATE/SPECIAL SERVICES:
Glass plate Negatives, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes and Tintypes
Antique photographs are rare, fragile and to some, priceless. We can reproduce these one of a kind pieces as giclée prints or photographic prints for you to share and enjoy, while you store the original in a safe place.
We take the greatest care with these fragile works of art as they are irreplacable pieces of our history, and will be treated as such with care and respect by our staff from the time they enter our posession, until they are returned.
Pricing is determined on a case by case basis. We need to see the original and evaluate it's condition before we can quote a price.
The first photographs were not on paper like today's, but on a sheet of metal or glass. In 1839 a French artist named Louis Daguerre perfected the Daguerreotype, a photograph made on a silver covered copper sheet.
Daguerreotype images are stoic. It took several minutes to expose the negative, meaning that the subjects had to sit or stand completely motionless for the duration or ruin the photograph. You will find many subjects propped by a chair, table or stand.
Unlike photography today where we can make many prints from a single negative, the Daguerreotype is the negative. There were no duplicates. If you own a daguerreotype it is a '1-of-1.' These photographs are delicate and often held in special cases.
The public was enamored with these images. The prices however was prohibitive, and subjects and owners were usually middle-class to rich.
The Ambrotype was made on a piece of glass, while the Tintype (aka ferrotype) was made on a piece of iron. As with the Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes and Tintypes have a black backing to correct the contrast, and the images are in mirror reverse. While the Ambrotype was short-lived, the tintype was an especially cheap way to make photographs and lasted until the early 20th Century. Many people collected Tintypes and housed them in special albums.