tintype

tintype — noun

1. A tintype is a kind of photograph from the late 1800s. It was made by creating a

1.nounC2
Definition

A tintype is a kind of photograph from the late 1800s. It was made by creating an image directly onto a thin iron plate that had been coated with a light-sensitive chemical mixture.

Example

Mei-Lin found an old tintype of her great-grandparents at the antique shop.

tintype of + person — possession pattern

The museum's exhibition showed how tintype portraits were made during the Civil War era.

tintype portrait — attributive noun use

Common collocations
  • tintype portrait
  • tintype photograph
  • old tintype
  • antique tintype
  • tintype of [someone]
Synonyms
  • ferrotype

    Exactly the same process; the two terms were used interchangeably in the 19th century, though 'tintype' was more common in everyday speech.

  • daguerreotype

    An even earlier type of photograph (1840s–1850s) made on a silver-coated copper plate. Daguerreotypes are rarer, more expensive, and have a mirror-like surface, while tintypes are on iron and look more matte.

Usage Note

Tintypes are a historical technology, so the word is used mostly when talking about antique photography or family history from the late 19th century. The term is still sometimes used by artists who recreate the process today.

Common Mistakes

She gave me an old tintype of her face.
She gave me an old tintype of her grandmother.
Tintypes are not instant; they are historical objects, not modern portraits like a selfie.
I printed a tintype from my phone.
I printed a photo from my phone, but a real tintype is made on a metal plate using old chemicals.
A tintype is a specific chemical process, not a filter or a print on metal paper.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Both 'tintype' and 'daguerreotype' are types of early photographs from the 1800s, but they differ in materials and popularity. A tintype was made on a thin iron plate coated with a chemical mixture, making it cheap and durable — it could even be carried in a pocket or mailed without a frame. A daguerreotype, by contrast, was made on a silver-coated copper plate; its surface was highly reflective and very delicate, and the process was more expensive. The general word 'photograph' covers all types of photo images, from modern digital prints to 19th-century processes. For example, you would say 'I have a photograph of my grandparents' if the type does not matter, but you would specify 'a tintype' or 'a daguerreotype' when discussing the historical method used.

tintype ↗daguerreotype ↗photograph ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • tintype portrait
  • tintype photograph
  • antique tintype

Prepositions

Etymology

English

The word 'tintype' is a compound of 'tin' and 'type' (short for 'type of photograph'). Despite the name, the plates were actually made of thin iron (not tin), but they were sometimes coated with tin to prevent rust. The process was invented in the 1850s by Hamilton Smith in the United States and became very popular during the American Civil War because the photos were quick to develop and cheap enough for ordinary soldiers to afford.

First known use

1864

1864, in the meaning defined above