Tintype occupationals

Workingmen and the tools of their trade

Rebekah Burgess Abramovich

c. 1860s-1880s

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/D1Gg6G9d4HU_yklIgwwygcqSljw=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_6.jpg" caption="A carpenter saws a plank." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

The tintype photographic process was patented in 1856, and its popularity swept through the United States in the following years. As the least expensive form of photographic portraiture, tintypes constituted most American’s first experience with photography or the portrait studio.These photographs were sturdy, long-lasting and quick to produce, only taking a few minutes to shoot, develop and deliver. Because there was no photographic negative incorporated into the process, tintypes were unreproducible — each image was entirely unique.Studios gave their subjects many opportunities to transform and express themselves for a photo, from backdrops to props to costumes.A popular sub-genre of tintype was occupational portraiture, in which the subject posed with the tools of his trade. While most subjects walked into the tintype studio with the idea that the camera might capture or even reinvent their identity, those who posed for occupationals chose to characterize themselves by their trade. This creates some humorous incongruities — a carpenter hammers nails into the floor in front of a forest backdrop, stovepipe makers wield their pliers in a fancy parlor, a papier-mache balustrade shares the frame with plumbers wielding wrenches. The visual combination of studio fantasy with earthbound practicality provides a unique view of a rarely glimpsed slice of American history.

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/yjHhQ69lcZsAb1EXmldDDt90EEo=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_1.jpg" caption="A carpenter poses with a hammer and nail." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/pyCwsK0mHC7eUT3UzKtx0kMRaMg=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_2.jpg" caption="Stovepipe makers with hammers and tin snips." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/5_53nzqkjojVaZWXGcxlDhtDS3Q=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_3.jpg" caption="A carpenter with a square." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/e5frAvQgD5_oWbkra2a0m6pOluA=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_4.jpg" caption="A man holding a hammer and wrench." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/hHAOtm6icAP5muIgTqIyDLtdsXE=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_5.jpg" caption="A painter with brushes and paints." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/why4Rm_RKKZbFOHzH8aR_CtK7xQ=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_7.jpg" caption="Two plumbers working on a pipe." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/yWClTkDE9Cjq4mSgujqNinS6sAg=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_8.jpg" caption="A tinsmith with a coal heater and sheet of tin." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/fFA2iZwSjXiIY8hbLEuNvf0fCfQ=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_9.jpg" caption="Two tinsmiths." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/UHCPrXAPsmIhXTKf-QE1SaWccto=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_10.jpg" caption="Tinsmiths cutting a sheet of metal." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/AXm8vvnenRMIL6aQwFC5Tsyi1UM=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_11.jpg" caption="Painters with brushes and buckets." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/kQOSJztpCcmcyIx7uiSPVdJdgh0=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_12.jpg" caption="A carpenter with a square and ornate balustrade." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/bPFn9eLYZ4CE3wauKt-Gaw5N2BQ=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_13.jpg" caption="A mason with a trowel and sledgehammer." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/qIk_CnXtsc5_HQxDH5YNMUg5lwU=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_14.jpg" caption="A painter painting a window frame." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/HdsZEyRGwm6wqLJku3qLEBzDMfI=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_15.jpg" caption="Carpenters with various tools." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/55rcCcwUUsr6IP7xSQLgSToCH_Y=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_16.jpg" caption="Three plasterers." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/4dgUlIHxHGHv6DbqnlENAnIKfhI=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_17.jpg" caption="Two men and a boy with saws and calipers." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/L8MKaudVjEJczJxZUkb2WLb5Dz0=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_18.jpg" caption="A mason with a chisel and mallet." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/EipS_ZiuzYKxBtawHxWdLVB0rlI=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_19.jpg" caption="A cigar-smoking plasterer with a trowel." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/dpiicQE3IAnw6r5qQUa_P5BFDpQ=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_20.jpg" caption="A stonecutter with a child." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/eQVizuaxiV-n0jHQJDYNsqj1blM=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_21.jpg" caption="A workman with a hammer and wrench." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/nxkLt3YdK1zklI0w9QjjUcW7Y4o=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_22.jpg" caption="A carpenter with a toolbox and square." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]

[img src="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/UsVwcASRAuD05xRjmzUM-phN8GE=/fit-in/1440x1440/uploads%2F2016%2F6%2F9%2Ftintypes_23.jpg" caption="A barber with a Union soldier customer." credit="Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert Mitchell" alt=""]