Beginner's Guide To Identifying Different Forms of Antique Photographs

One if the most common things I see out picking or on eBay is the misidentified photo.
So here's a quick and simplified guide to visually identifying the most common forms of antique photographs. When you're out antique picking, this could help you quickly identify what you're looking at.
There are discernable differences between Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, and tintypes.
This is mainly for unexperienced and new collectors.

[@leenorthcutt8421]

Awesome video! I’ve lived my whole life with ghosts of past family members in the formats of photography you’ve gone through here. I’m lucky enough to have hundreds of photographs and have been able to identify the people and times they were taken in almost all of them. It helps that I had lots of documentation handed down too. It’s fascinating! Thank you!

[@antiquephotos5126]

Thanks Lee! That's awesome you have those images and can peer into your family's past!

[@phillykiki7320]

Thanks for this. I just purchased my camera. I’ll be taking tin types and posting soon

[@patricklong1418]

It's helpful, thanks.

[@ThePhotoAngelProject]

Very helpful! Thank you! -The Photo Angel 📸😇

[@f.puttstycker2784]

If light?

[@marilynn76]

How can you tell an ambrotype if you’re not able to take it out of the frame? I noticed it has a similar “negative” appearance like the daguerreotype. Is the mirrorlike appearance of the daguerreotype just much more pronounced? I own some daguerreotypes and tintypes but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an ambrotype.

[@antiquephotos5126]

So Dags look completely different than tins/ambros..not even close. They look very similar to an actual mirror when viewing straight on.
Tin types and ambros can look very similar. 1 trick that works sometimes is to take a small magnet and put it on the glass. Tins will almost always stick, ambrotypes usually won't- unless they have a metal backing.
You can also try using a light at different angles. A tintype is flat, so the light won't show any depth. Since the ambrotype is on a piece of glass, you'll typically be able to notice the negative pop out.

[@antiquephotos5126]

I would also say: removing photos from the old cases is relatively easy and painless...however, if you're not comfortable don't do it. You can use or get a photo that's in relatively poor condition for cheap to practice.
I would definitely say to leave thr images in their brass mats/preservers until you are comfortable in your ability to not damage them...they can be quite fragile little things! Take care!

[@triciaendsley9202]

What date range would Ambrotypes have been taken in? Is there a way to trace an Ambrotype photo to the region/location it was created in?

[@wagnertheitalianflipper9047]

Why do people open them up for?unless they looking for some message or something

[@antiquephotos5126]

There are various potential reasons. Other than what you've mentioned, reasons people open them up could include cleaning the glass, replacing broken glass, and/or resealing the image for preservation.

[@wagnertheitalianflipper9047]

@@antiquephotos5126 I understand now thank you

[@SirGweet]

@@antiquephotos5126 To see you still commenting is fantastic sir, because I also have a question. Thank you in advance. So now I know I have ambros on clear glass, at least one of my photos is. It has no backing at all, I can see the clear glass. It's been in its case however. My questions are: 1) can I take the clear glass protective cover off and clean that like normal, and define normal (water, windex, etc), and 2) is there anything I can do for the ambro itself (water, a damp cloth, a dry qtip, etc)? Disassembling the piece isn't my concern, I just want to make sure that once I have the image out I don't do anything harmful to it. My goal is to get a clear shot with my phone's camera (no flash, if that matters), that way I have a digital backup. However, with the glass protective covers that are dirty, it makes getting a clear shot difficult. Thank you in advance for any advice you may have!

[@garyfrancis6193]

You didn’t explain a tin type.