Daguerreotype, Tintype or Ambrotype What's Your Type?

I'm just joking with you.  I'm actually talking about those really old photos you found in that old trunk grandma gave you.  It seems like everyone has a couple of older(antique) photographs of relatives they never knew.  Maybe someone in your family knows. Write them on the back lightly in pencil if you find out.  How much are they worth, you ask? The value of old photos depends on their age, condition, type and subject matter.

I'm really no expert when it comes to the pricing.  You'll have to do some research.  But I can give you some information that will help in your search.  The following is a list of all the different types of photographs from an earlier time.

Albumen print:  the first commercial photographic print on paper was invented in 1850..  It was used to make photos mounted in cabinet cards and Ca rte De Vi site.

Ambrotype:  a faint negative image on lass seen as positive when placed on a dark backing.  Dates from the 1850's.

Cabinet card:  6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches.  Many were of famous people or pretty women.  This is a photo mounted in a slightly larger piece of cardboard, approx 1866.

Ca rte De Vi site ("visiting card"):  a small photo mounted on a slightly larger piece of cardboard, 4 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches.  A fad in the United States in the late 1850's.

Daguerreotype:  a positive image made directly on a silvered copper plate.  Named for inventor, Louis Daguerre of France, they were first introduced in the United States in 1839

Photogravure:  a reproduction of a photo in ink on paper; came into wide use in the late 1890's.

Tintype:  a positive image on tinned iron;  they were inexpensive and became popular after the Civil War.