The Schomburg Tintype collection dates from the 1850s through the 1870s, and consists of seventeen tintypes. The portraits depict primarily Black families, couples, and individuals, posed in a portrait style, photographs taken by Black photographers, and most likely enslaved Black women with the white children in their care.
Biographical/historical: This collection of tintypes was compiled from multiple collections by the Schomburg Photographs and Prints Division. Tintypes were invented in 1853, adapting the same collodion emulsion technology of ambrotypes, but instead of a glass plate, a thin sheet of iron was exposed. The format was popular in the 1860s and 1870s, and offered a more accessible option of portraiture. Tintypes were easier, faster, and less expensive to create than daguerreotypes or ambrotypes, and the durability of the tin backing did not require custom encasings. Photographers could also generate more mobile studio set-ups, with photography tents or booths becoming a common novelty at fairs and carnivals.
One photograph in the collection contains an image of actor Ira Frederick Aldridge in his role as Othello. Born in 1807, Aldridge is considered one of the first Black American tragic actors, having played several Shakespearean characters throughout his career in the United States and England.
The identities of most of the photographers and the individuals depicted are unknown, but one photographer is identified as James Presley Ball (1825-1904), a Black photographer, businessman, and abolitionist. Ball was trained as a daguerreotypist and established one of the earliest Black-owned photography businesses. His studio was established in Ohio in 1845, but shortly after that, Ball shifted to a traveling daguerreotype business. Ball returned to Ohio in 1849, where he established the widely recognized and successful "Ball's Daguerrean Gallery of the West," and later another studio and gallery with his brother-in-law, Alexander Thomas. In addition to his photography business, Ball was part of a network of abolitionist artists who created a large panoramic painting and accompanying pamphlet detailing the horrors of slavery.
From the 1850s through 1900, Ball traveled around the United States, creating different iterations of the J. P. Ball and Son Studio, while also mastering the evolving technologies of early photography processes. Ball photographed many significant historical figures, including Frederick Douglass. As business expanded, his daughters and other family members worked in the studios. Shortly after moving to Portland, Oregon to establish a studio with his son in 1900, Ball moved to Honolulu with his daughter, Estella J.P. Ball. However, in 1904, Ball died at seventy-nine.
Content: The collection consists of seventeen tintypes from the 1860s to the 1870s, depicting mainly Black individuals in a posed portrait style. Most of the figures are unidentified, but one image is of actor Ira Frederick Aldridge.
The majority of these tintypes contain portraits of Black individuals and groups, with some images made by Black photographers and Black-owned studios. There are photographs of likely enslaved Black wet nurses and caregivers with white children or babies.
The majority of photographers are unknown, but one photograph identifies the photographer as James Prestley Ball.
The tintypes are arranged by call number and include a physical description of the casing, an approximate date, and the photographer's name when known.
