Tintype Photographs

October 05, 2010

Have you ever found an old metal photograph and wondered what it was? Recently, I found myself in possession of several of these old pictures from my family history. These types of photos are called tintypes. Tintypes, also known as ferrotypes, began showing up in the 1850’s, and stayed around until the early 1900’s. Unlike the name implies, no tin was used, but rather iron. They were popular for several reasons; they were cheaper, faster, easier to create, and more durable than other types of photographs. The pictured tintype is of my great-great-great-grandparents and their family. In fact, I have an entire series of these tintypes showing my third great grandparents as they grow old.

Andrew M.
Midwest Genealogy Center