I am often sent privately-owned ambrotypes to work on. Most of them are dateable from dress to the mid-late 1850s or early 1860s but occasionally there is a query as to whether they could possibly be pre- 1854, the year when I understand (from Audrey Linkman's The Victorians: Photographic Portraits) that restrictions to the use of the wet collodian process were finally removed.
I can't seem to find out much more about its early history betweeen 1851 and the end of 1854. Does anyone know for sure whether any commercial photographers were likely to have been using the process and producing ambrotype portraits during these years?
If anyone can suggest any answer to this query I'd be very interested and grateful!
Thank you,
Jayne
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Regards
Jayne
Michael Pritchard said:
regards
Michael Pritchard
I would be a little wary of Gernsheim's writing as when I was researching Archer he made a basic error on Archer's death date which would have been easy to have checked. It was because of that I decided to only trust original documentation.
Best wishes,
John.
Brett Payne said:
The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Saturday, April 3, 1852; I...
Thanks, that's interesting. Yes, John Brewer mentioned earlier that Fox Talbot did take action against some photographers using the process early on, though not, apparently, others. It seems, then, that some commercial portrait photographers were risking it in the years before the pivotal court case of December 1854. I believe it is true to say that the non-renewal of the patent in 1855 effectively removed any remaining opposition and opened up ambrotype photography to all professionals. According to Audrey Linkman, the numbers of UK portrait studios rose rapidly and significantly from 1855, which supports the likelihood that many more photographers began to use the process from that year onwards. Most of the ambrotypes that I've seen are dateable to at least the mid-1850s. It would be interesting to see any examples thought to date from c.1852-5.
Jayne
Brett Payne said:
"The harshness of Talbot's proceedings, after the collodion process had been in general use for two years ..."
From the context, I assume that he is referring to its use in studio photography, and the proceedings that are being referred were in December 1854.
Brett.
Thank you for the snippet from the Gernsheim book, which I haven't had the pleasure to read. I believe it is still considered one of the major sources on early photography.
When I first started this discussion I was trying to establish the facts surrounding the early use of the wet collodion process for portrait photography. Judging from input from other members and my own experience of looking at privately-owned ambrotypes it does seem that, although the earliest ambrotypes were produced in 1852, they were relatively rare before c.1855, because of restrictions to their use (see earlier comments).
The later 1850s and very early 1860s seem to have been the heyday of the good quality ambrotype, and during those years they were evidently being produced by all sorts of commercial photographers, for clients of all social ranks. I think it was after the cdv became more fashionable and convenient in the early 1860s that the ambrotype began to deteriorate and became associated to some extent with travelling and other cheaper photographers. As we are finding out, though, ambrotype production drifted on until towards the end of the century. I wonder if any other members have come across examples dating from the 1890s or later?
Jayne
Brett Payne said:
Well, you certainly come across as very knowledgeable! Yes this new book does include a significant section on dating dress - that of men, women and children. So too did my first book, which concentrated on the visual image, especially how to interpret fashion/clothing clues to date old photographs: Family Photographs and how to Date Them (Countryside Books, 2008). I do use other dating techniques such as photographer operational dates, photographic format and style of photographic mounts etc. but I firmly believe that in most cases it is dress that helps to determine the most accurate time frame for 19th and early 20th century photographs. Sorry to go on...
Regards
Jayne
Brett Payne said:
"[Ambrotypes] were exceedingly popular in England with the cheaper kind of photographer from 1852 until about 1863, when the fashion for cartes-de-visite superseded them."
However, the source provided for this information, i.e. issues of The Photographic News in 1858 & 1865, are obviously not contemporary.
Regards, Brett
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