PHOTOAL

I am a experienced amateur photographer for many years and love to get UHH everyday for the insights of all of the knowledgeable photographic minds. I hope that my story will hopefully touch one of you to help me out with my nice dilemma. I was doing some yard work behind my home that was built in the late 1800's by my Great-Great grandfather. Another one of my hobbies is metal detecting. Since I had tilled up a 45 by 70 area of the yard for new grass I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some metal detecting to see what I could find. Long story short I found 8 photographic plates that responded to my metal detector. The first one that I found was the size of a 2" oblong broach. I thought it was just a piece of metal until I cleaned it off and realized that there was prongs holding both pieces together. As I cleaned the dirt away I noticed a face staring back at me in a portrait that was a picture of my Great-Great grandfather. Before I was done I found 8 pieces of the same configuration of two pieces of metal of various sizes, largest being approximately 3" x 4". I did notice some parts of photographs on some of the others so I know they were all photos of some sort. The back piece is copper because of the green patina on all of the backs. However, having been in the ground for at least 80-90 years there is some rust and other debris on them that just doesn't wash off. So my question's are: #1. Are these considered tin types and does anybody in UHH land know what the process was so many years ago in printing these pictures from the metal plates. #2. Would it be smart to attach a battery to these items in water to try and electro mechanically remove the debris or rust from the pictures. I would really like to see if I could bring back the actual pictures on these metal plates. I know in UHH land everybody is going to want to see pictures. However, taking pictures of these will not show you anything that will help my in my quest. Any insight and knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Thank You in advance.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

It would be nice to see a photograph of what you have. Your lucky that any photo is recognizable . There are two possibilities for what type of photograph you have. If the metal is rather thin then you have a tin-type (very common). I don't think these had copper backs The copper suggests these might be Daguerre types. These are made on copper and the image is from mercury. the copper is thicker than the tin type. In any case you need a professional restorer. Perhaps contacting the George Eastman house would be good. Other Museums may help as well. Best you can do is photograph what you have and then Photoshop. I have found it useful to choose the blue channel only or some combination of the green and blue channels.

Good Luck

fetzler Loc: North West PA

I forgot each of these types of photos are in camera originals. No printing.

PHOTOAL

Thank You for your response. There are actually two pieces of metal sandwiched together by the prongs like a prong holding a stone in a ring. I only have the one image that is quite easy to see and pieces of other images on the others that tell me that they are photos.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Don't attach a battery or anything else to them until you have professional guidance in how to proceed. You wouldn't want to further damage in an instant what has been waiting to be discovered for 90-years. I would definitely start by contacting a university that has a museum science degree program and ask to speak to an appropriate expert. It is not enough to know if it is a digeriotype, tintype or another media, you need someone who has expert knowledge regarding restoration and conservation. Very few photographers have that specialized knowledge unless they have either a degree in museum science or have worked hands on in a museum's conservation department.

PHOTOAL

Thank You so much for the reply. You are correct. These are very important to me with loads of intrinsic value and I do not wish to destroy them before I am even sure of what I have. I will have to do some research. I am from a small town area so reaching out to a University will take some doing but it is a good thing to have to do.

Stardust Loc: Central Illinois

Here is a blog that may help enlighten you plus his contact info is at the end. He may be willing to point you towards some resources.

http://www.finedags.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources.condition

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Great find for you if they can be salvaged. Valuable to family members.
The picture of my Great Grandfather's Senior Prom date from 1870 disappeared from the family album - it was in excellent condition. Some relative thought they needed it more than the rest of the family. Several old oil lamps and similar stuff also disappeared from the old family farm house before it was sold.

But as to the suggestion to contact a museum about how to handle these photos - I second, third and forth that idea. The Kodak Museum, Museum of Natural History or Smithsonian. Just last week I read an article about scanning and digital enhancement of these old photos. Sadly I read and did not bookmark it and it seems to have been taken down.

Found it and it was put up by the Smithsonian about a Canadian PhD candidate working with advanced X-Ray Tech and digital enhancement.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-used-particle-accelerator-unearth-tarnished-19th-century-daguerreotype-portraits-180969585/

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Start on line by finding the phone number for John's Hopkins University Museum Studies Department and giving them a call. If they cannot help you, they can refer you to an institution that can.

PHOTOAL

Thank You for all of the info. It gives me a starting point and interesting to find out where this will lead. Once again UHH members come to the rescue.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Let us know what you find out.

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

Daguerreotypes are not the only type of period photography before the use of modern (for the 20th century) film. What you have found may or may not be a daguerreotype; but its a starting point. I would advise to proceed with caution by first identifying what you have there; then move to finding the best course of action for conservation. Remember they were in the ground for a very long time sitting in a light tight container while doing research is no big deal. Remember Google is your friend in this case.

Please let us know how this goes.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Daguerreotypes became very rare after 1870 or so, therefore it is more likely that it is a tintype, not a daguerreotype because you said it was a picture of your grandfather, not your great grandfather. I still stand by my advice to do nothing until you consult with a specialist with educational credentials and or museum experience in the restoration and conservancy of original photographs.

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

bpuly, I don't think we disagree on this; we are basically saying the same thing.

Zenmonkey

Try The Penumbra Foundation Center for Alternative Photography in NY. They teach these different photography processes and am sure could direct you to someone there who could help. 917-288-0343