To be or Not to be the Wright Bros. Photo

[Directly]

The tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s, but lesser use of the medium persisted into the early 20th century and it has been revived as a novelty and fine art form in the 21st.

Tintype portraits were at first usually made in a formal photographic studio, like daguerreotypes and other early types of photographs, but later they were most commonly made by photographers working in booths or the open air at fairs and carnivals, as well as by itinerant sidewalk photographers. Because the lacquered iron support (there is no actual tin used) was resilient and did not need drying, a tintype could be developed and fixed and handed to the customer only a few minutes after the picture had been taken.

The tintype photograph saw more uses and captured a wider variety of settings and subjects than any other photographic type. It was introduced while the daguerreotype was still popular, though its primary competition would have been the ambrotype.

The tintype saw the Civil War come and go, documenting the individual soldier and horrific battle scenes. It captured scenes from the Wild West, as it was easy to produce by itinerant photographers working out of covered wagons.

It began losing artistic and commercial ground to higher quality albumen prints on paper in the mid-1860s, yet survived for well over another 40 years, living mostly as a carnival novelty. [1]

The tintype's immediate predecessor, the ambrotype, was done by the same process of using a sheet of glass as the support. The glass was either of a dark color or provided with a black backing so that, as with a tintype, the underexposed negative image in the emulsion appeared as a positive. Tintypes were sturdy and did not require mounting in a protective hard case like ambrotypes and daguerreotypes.

[bgar3]

Tom, the emblem in your tintype does resemble the Red Stocking one, I will try to match it up more accurately. I will check my copy of Ellard to see about other years, but off the top of my head I don’t remember any socks like that. Harry was on the team before George, but I do not see him in the tintype. I am also curious about the reverse logo on one, but not the other.

[jpop43]

The mystery of the reversed lettering stems from the fact that the player simply affixed the detachable bib panel upside down when he put his shirt on.

[bgar3]

Thanks Jon.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by jpop43

The mystery of the reversed lettering stems from the fact that the player simply affixed the detachable bib panel upside down when he put his shirt on.

Must have been one helluva party.

Brian

[bgar3]

Tom,
I have checked Ellard and can find no similar uniform matches for 1868, or 69 as expected. I attached photos which include the cover image with a good illustration of the logo for you to compare. The team disbanded in 1870.
I think it is unlikely to be a team associated with the Red Stockings, but it could very well be a team that adopted the same or similar logo based upon their success and the surrounding publicity.

[SteveS]

Hi Directly. I would first point out to you the very prescient comment you posted in my Knickerbocker thread. Your percentages are spot-on. I have taken some time to review your photo, and in my opinion (which this board doesn't value much), I don't think they are matches. Some specific things I see that stand out are that your Harry has a prominent fold in his ear, which is not present in any known photos of Harry. Also, your Harry's mouth is wider than the known Harry. For George his nose is noticeably shorter than your George, and his chin is less rounded. I am posting side-by-side comparisons from your photo along with examples from a well-known picture of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. I chose this one because the players are wearing caps, as in your photo. I reversed the image of yours as tintypes are mirror images. I also sharpened all the images to make them easier to see and compare. Finally, I ran them through facial-match software. Harry gets a score of 33% and "from different persons," and George gets 30% and also "from different persons." As always, none of this is conclusive and I hope you are eventually able to prove the IDs, whether it's the Wrights or others. Regardless, it's an extremely cool pic!

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Must have been one helluva party.

Brian

They were partying like it was 1899.

[drcy]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

They were partying like it was 1899.

[Directly]

I'm laughing too -- at all the so called photo experts--what a disastrous error he made with my Dubuque photo-if he and some of you would have just tried to help me instead of against me the outcome could have ended up as gentlemen.---get him on here!

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Directly

The tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s, but lesser use of the medium persisted into the early 20th century and it has been revived as a novelty and fine art form in the 21st.

Tintype portraits were at first usually made in a formal photographic studio, like daguerreotypes and other early types of photographs, but later they were most commonly made by photographers working in booths or the open air at fairs and carnivals, as well as by itinerant sidewalk photographers. Because the lacquered iron support (there is no actual tin used) was resilient and did not need drying, a tintype could be developed and fixed and handed to the customer only a few minutes after the picture had been taken.

The tintype photograph saw more uses and captured a wider variety of settings and subjects than any other photographic type. It was introduced while the daguerreotype was still popular, though its primary competition would have been the ambrotype.

The tintype saw the Civil War come and go, documenting the individual soldier and horrific battle scenes. It captured scenes from the Wild West, as it was easy to produce by itinerant photographers working out of covered wagons.

It began losing artistic and commercial ground to higher quality albumen prints on paper in the mid-1860s, yet survived for well over another 40 years, living mostly as a carnival novelty. [1]

The tintype's immediate predecessor, the ambrotype, was done by the same process of using a sheet of glass as the support. The glass was either of a dark color or provided with a black backing so that, as with a tintype, the underexposed negative image in the emulsion appeared as a positive. Tintypes were sturdy and did not require mounting in a protective hard case like ambrotypes and daguerreotypes.

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