America’s Original Photograph

The tintype (or ferrotype) is a distinctly American photographic process that emerged in the 1850s, evolving from the wet plate collodion method. Practical, fast, and built for a country in motion, it replaced fragile glass with thin sheets of iron coated in dark enamel, then sensitized, exposed, and developed while still wet.

The result was a one-of-a-kind, direct positive image—produced in minutes, with no negative required—making it both durable and affordable. As a result, tintypes became the people’s medium, spreading alongside a rapidly industrializing nation and capturing everyday Americans in a way no earlier process had.