Portrait of Thomas Edison While Working on the Grand Trunk Railroad, 1859-1862
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Ambrotypes (meaning, "imperishable pictures") were popular in the mid-1850s through the 1860s. Glass plates coated with photosensitive collodion were exposed in cameras while wet. The resulting image on glass, backed with black material, appeared as a photographic positive. Ambrotypes replaced daguerrotypes as an affordable and convenient alternative; however, improvements in photographic processes soon led to widespread adoption of the tintype.
Ambrotypes (meaning, "imperishable pictures") were popular in the mid-1850s through the 1860s. Glass plates coated with photosensitive collodion were exposed in cameras while wet. The resulting image on glass, backed with black material, appeared as a photographic positive. Ambrotypes replaced daguerrotypes as an affordable and convenient alternative; however, improvements in photographic processes soon led to widespread adoption of the tintype.
Artifact
Ambrotype (Photograph)
Date Made
1859-1862
Subject Date
1859-1862
Place of Creation
Collection Title
On Exhibit
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
74.166.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Leather
Wood (Plant Material)
Brass (Alloy)
Glass (Material)
Collodion
Velvet (Fabric weave)
Lining (Material)
Technique
Ambrotype (Wet collodion process)
Sixteenth plate
Dimensions
Height: 2.875 in
Width: 2.375 in
Length: 0.75 in
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