1854 - Circa. 1930s

The tintype was invented in America by Hamilton Smith in 1856. It is a variation of the collodion wet-plate process, in which the emulsion was coated on a sheet of black japanned iron to produce a direct positive image. They are sometimes called ferrotypes or malainotypes. Tintypes became popular during the American Civil War because they were cheaper and more durable than daguerreotypes or ambrotypes.