1870s-1880s Man in drag. Private Collection.
I got hold of this unique tintype by pure luck…Those are very rare as you can imagine. No bowler or high collar on this cross-dresser but a huge bowtie over a fur coat, a woman’s hat with side gemstones and a confident smile. An amazing find.
A very unusual and humorous tintype I wish I had in my collection. This teen is holding a doll in his arm with a cigar in the mouth, and is smiling with mirth while doing so. The cheeks were tinted by the studio artist. This was usually done in watercolors or oils.
A little fun fact: tintypes are mirror images of their subjects, so you’re looking at the reverse image of him as he was holding the doll with his left arm.
2″ x 2.5″. Private Collection
I got this one for the copper frame it was in I intended to use for another. The scan of the seller made the subject blurry and I really didn’t know what I was going to get. It was a nice surprise to see the subject is worth keeping the frame for. I delicately took it out for the scan and promptly put it back in.
The inscription on top is the patent for the process: MELAINOTYPE PLATE FOR NEFFS. DAT 19 FEB (18)56.
The melainotype was the precursor of the tintype. It had a thicker plate.
Neck scarf wearing mustached gentleman of the 1860s-1870s.
A very nice CDV vignette of a mustached man -the first on this blog, but not the last -ba-dum-ching!
Bowery Boy. Private Collection.
This one feels special to me. This young man walked the streets my characters roam in their little universe. He has kind eyes, don’t you think? And he was right smack in the middle of the slums.
Photographer: Riker. 234 Bowery, N.Y.
Bowlers And High Collars 