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History of vintage photography

Photography has been popular since the late 1820's, and credit is given to the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Photography has come a long way over the last few centuries. Below you will find a list of vintage photography types along with a description of the most popular types of vintage photos.

Ambrotype: An encased glass negative with a black background that lasted from the mid 1850's through 1860's. Normally these photos are of individual portraits.

Calotype: A paper print common in England during the 1840's invented by William H.F. Talbot.

Cabinet Card: Popular in the US from 1866 through the early 1900's, these vintage photos are mounted on thick cards, are approximately 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches, and are normally portraits of un-identified people. However, it is common for the photographer or photography studio to leave an advertisement for their services at the bottom of the front or the entire backside of each vintage photo.

Carte de Visite (CDV's): This photographic process began in France in 1854, and are approximately 2 1/2 x 4" in size. The CDV negative allowed for multiple number of prints to be produced, thus ending the 'one shot / one photo' problem. Most of the vintage photos of the United States Civil War were made using the Carte de Visite process.

Daguerreotype: These vintage photos came to the United States thanks to Samuel F. B. Morse who discovered their popularity in Paris. These photos were produced on a silver plated sheet of metal and lasted from about 1839 through 1860.

Postcards: From approximately 1910 through 1925, cameras that took 'postcard' sized images

Stereotype: These vintage photos have two almost identical scenes displayed side-by-side on the same photograph, and were popular from 1854 through 1938.

Tintype: These famous vintage photos lasted from 1856 through the early 1900's, and are easily identifiable as the photograph is produced on a thin metal plate.

Many vintage daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and some tintypes were mounted within cases made of leather, wood and an early form of plastic. At AncientFaces you will find all of these vintage photos and more.