Tintypes, Ferrotypes Part Two – how to spot fakes, hopefully.

Most “fakes” are simply honest photographs of reenactors made as a souvenir of a gathering.  The fake part is misrepresentation of age and additional enhancement by placing the photo in a Civil War period case or sticking an original period revenue stamp on the back.

The lowest grade of fake is simply a copied image printed on a computer printer, glued down on a tintype and then lacquered.  These are easy to spot, due to the fact that the thick edge of the paper will be easy to spot and be felt.  This kind of fake is generally used on CDVs, but it does occur on occasion with tintypes.

Poorest type of fake.
Just a piece of thick paper with a laser printed image!
This was sold on eBay.

More sophisticated fakes are made by making a 35 mm slide of an original photo and then via a photographic enlarger exposing the blank tintype with the old image, transferring a unique image onto the plate.  The giveaway is that the image is no longer unique and probably gleaned from a website, eBay, or other photos, or even a book.  Also original processed tintypes will be slightly vignetted and the image will not run right to the edge.

Of course, recasing is another typical way to increase value.  Some dealers may take a good, original photo and place it into a rarer type case to increase the value of both.  Detecting that deceit is much more difficult to prove. Cases can hide clues to a fake as well.  Keep an eye out for modern reproductions of CW period cases.  They can be paired with an original image also.  Just as a note, most tintypes are caseless or have a paper frame, since the cost of a thermoplastic case was generally more expensive than the cost of the tintype when it was new.

An Original Civil War era thermoplastic case

Get familiar with what age and patina on an original tintype might have.  I have seen the gamut from absolutely pristine to bent, worn, emulsion damage, and even rust on both originals and fakes.  Some people paid extra to have brass buttons painted in, blushes added and even backgrounds washed in and uniforms tinted as well.  These areas may often have a raised feeling when touched, although a light wash might not be raised enough to feel.

There are many good dealers and a number of good, modern photographers who are honest and forthright.  Keep an eye out for modern marks and stamps of a contemporary maker.  If you buy, always deal with a known seller of authentic photos who has a verifiable reputation if you want to buy an expensive photo.  There are many good deals out there at flea markets, garage sales and in junk shops, but let your knowledge steer you clear of items that are too good to be true:  tintypes with images of Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, confederate soldier with dagger, pistol, flag and motto.

Also take into consideration that there were people making tintypes from the late 1850's upuntil well into the 1930's and a few even later.

A circa 1910 swimsuit tintype
with an old fashioned paper frame.

A tintype cameraman in San Antonio, Texas,
Photo by Russell Lee, March, 1939

Use the internet as your tool for research.  There are a number of forums and blogs that talk about original vs fake photography as well as those photographers who make modern photos using 19th century technology who are happy to share their wisdom.  Seek them out.

Here are a few web resources dealing with antique photography.
Photo-sleuth
The Daguerreian Society

Tintypes, Ferrotypes, and Fakes, Oh My!

Tintypes, Ferrotypes, and Fakes, Oh My!

Tintypes, ferrotypes, whatever you call them can be worth just a few bucks to tens of thousands of dollars.  On 25 June 2011, the original Billy the Kid tintype photo goes t auction, with an estimated sale of $300,000 to $400,000.

William H. Bonney

Tintypes, as they are commonly, and erroneously known, are sheet iron painted black with a photo on them.  The process involves putting a wet photo sensitive emulsion on the plate and them exposing them in a camera to get the image.

Previously tintypes were very commonly made from the late 1850s all the way to the end of the century and even a few decades beyond, depending on location and situation.  By the 1980s less than a dozen hobbyists and experimenters were making tintypes.  Around this time tintypes became collectible.

What’s a tintype worth?  It depends.  They are collected by subject, by size, by era and by the beauty or rarity of the image.  Presently Civil War images are the most collected although not necessarily the most expensive.  A cased image of an unknown Union infantry trooper with no weapons or attribution might fetch between $100 to $150 depending on the type of case and the condition of the image.

An original Tintype Civil war era ¼ plate image
Note the Photographic equipment on the lower left side of the image

Correspondingly, an image of a soldier with a plethora of brandished weapons, or a confederate image, or a non-standard armed soldier with a bowie could top $1000 in the recent past.  Remember it’s about supply and demand.  The number of Civil War images is limited and demand is up.  In come the fakers and destroy history and defraud buyers.

An original Tintype Civil war era  image
Note the shot gun and the D guard bowie knife

An original Tintype Civil war era image?
Note the model 1849 Colt Pocket gun and side knife and rare neckerchief.
But there are a couple of other things in this image that seem to be wrong.
can you spot them?

In the 1980s few stalwart hobbyist and reenactors made period style tintypes as portraits of other reenactors, no intent to make fakes.  One of those early photographers is Wendell R. Decker, who takes every pain to ensure that his recreations will not be taken as historical photos or worse at the hands of unscrupulous dealers, who might sell a reproduction as original Civil War era photography.

A very recent image by Mr.Decker
of Misters Tyler Gibson &  Rocky Kilpatrick ,
Reenactors

Crooked dealers and now crooked photographers are working together to defraud buyers with faked tintypes that are either reprints of original photos or new, original photos set up to fool a collector.  Wendell Decker uses Japanned sheet aluminum on his photos, something that had never been used previously to thwart fakers and crooked dealers.  “You see”, says Decker, “a magnet will stick to an original tintype, but not on one of mine”.   He also marks the back of his images.

Mr.Decker uses aluminum sheet for his tintypes
and boldly signs them on the back,
so as to readily identify them as modern.

Decker is determined to keep fakers from using honestly made reproductions like his from ending up on EBay or in the hands of crooked dealers being sold as original Civil War.  We need more photographers like Decker.  He was one of those original less than a dozen reenactor photographers I told you about.  Now there are hundreds of photographers making tintypes, most all of which are honest and there are tens of thousands of dealers, most of which are honest, but unless you get acquainted with tintypes and buckle down with first-hand knowledge, you just might get taken.

Wendell R. Decker's
assistant Suzy Chambers McGill

Now this is an image that even tough there were originals
similar to this they are extremely rare and on today's market
could fetch high prices at auction. This is why it is crucial
to be able to identify original from modern images.

See Part Two – how to spot fakes, hopefully. Coming soon!

The Guennol Lioness Sculpture, A Masterpiece in Miniature.

This is a very famous and stone sculpture called the Guennol Lioness.  It’s also one of the world’s most expensive figures, Having sold for $57.2 million and it standing a whopping 3 ¼ inches tall.  Made of crystalline limestone, it is a tribute to the unknown master’s hand that created this diminutive tour de force. 

It was carved about 5,000 years ago in the  Proto-Elamite, Chalcolithic era, giving lie to the belief that earlier cultures were not as advanced aesthetically or artistically as modern people.  It was found in the middle 1930s in southwest Persia (now Iran) and sold to a private collector and displayed in the Guennol Collection, which was exhibited in various museums.  The lionesses’ powerful lines come through despite the small size, giving us a feeling that this anthropometric creature was imbued with great power.
 

The statue came to my attention several years back when it was put up for auction and new photos were made and released to the public.  Previously, there were only grainy pictures in archeological texts, now we can enjoy the figure’s magnificent lines in crisp, new photos and wonder in the power of an ancient stone carver’s art.

Sorry, but this can not be currently viewed at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs,MS
This little treasure was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2007 to an undisclosed buyer.