Photographs

About Antique Photographs

From Mathew Brady's Civil War photos to Ansel Adams' landscapes to Irving Penn's magazine shots, antique and vintage photographs are highly collectible. Photography was introduced in the U.S. in 1839, and immediately became popular.

Daguerreotypes dominated the field of photography until the mid-1850s. A daguerreotype is a copper plate covered with a thin layer of polished silver that looks like a mirror when held at a certain angle. By the mid-1840s, they were affordable for the average person, and it is therefore relatively easy to find old daguerreotypes today. Most daguerreotypes were studio portraits, where the subject posed for the photograph at the photographer's studio. Daguerreotypes featuring outdoor or street scenes are far rarer...

In the mid-1850s, ambrotypes replaced the daguerreotype. An ambrotype is a negative that has been put on glass and placed against a black background to make it look like a positive. Ambrotypes were popular until the 1890s. Another example of a cased image like the daguerreotype or ambrotype is the tintype, which was patented in 1856 and was made using a thin sheet of iron.

Stereoviews, also known as stereographs, were also created in the late 1850s and reached a peak of popularity in the 1870s. Stereoviews were cheap photographs that simulated a 3D view. In the 1880s, various companies decided to mass-market stereoviews that featured pictures of foreign locations to homes and schools. Stereoviews remained popular throughout the early 1900s.

In 1859, the carte de visite, which had been created in France, was introduced to the U.S. The carte de visite, or CDV, was a 2.5 inch by 4 inch print made of paper. As it was more affordable than previous forms of photography, it was accessible to a wider group of people. Many Civil War soldiers had their photographs taken and printed as a CDV.

Real photo postcards are another popular form of photographic print. Real photo postcards were made by developing a photograph onto postcard-sized photo paper with a postcard backing. They are still made today.

The most popular paper photographic print is the gelatin silver print, or black and white photograph. Gelatin silver prints have a long lifespan if well-maintained. Most 20th century photographs were monochromatic, and it wasn't until the 1960s that color photography became commonplace.

Scarcity, condition, and the identity of the photographer and subject all play a role in determining the value of antique and vintage photographs. Some examples of popular (and collectible) photographers include Lewis Hine, Robert Frank, W. Eugene Smith, Danny Lyon, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., and the photographers associated with the Farm Security Administration, such as Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With 19th Century Photograph and Americana Collector Wes Cowan

I’ve always been interested in antiques. As a kid, I collected a variety of stuff – fossils, rocks, minerals, natur… [more]

An Interview with Daile Kaplan of Swann Auction Galleries on Collecting 20th Century Photographs

Swann, which is New York City’s oldest specialty auction house, was founded in the late 1940s as an antiquarian boo… [more]

An Interview With Antique Photograph and Camera Collectors Jack and Beverly Wilgus

We both come from families that had collections and we both had collections as children. Jack lost his when his gra… [more]

An Interview With Metropolitan Museum Curator Jeff Rosenheim On The Postcard Collection Of Walker Evans

In 1994, I had the great pleasure of acquiring the complete archive of Walker Evans for the Metropolitan Museum. Th… [more]



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Photographs Videos



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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

The Daguerreian Society

The Daguerreian Society

Explore the history, art, and science of antique daguerreotypes. Includes extensive galleries browsable by subject … [read review or visit site]

Art of the Photogravure

Art of the Photogravure

Photographer Mark Katzman's comprehensive and beautiful reference site and collection of Photogravure. A must for p… [read review or visit site]

Collection of Collections

Collection of Collections

Jack and Beverly Wilgus' personal collection website, of which the most interesting areas are: strongmen and strong… [read review or visit site]

Square America

Square America

If you like vernacular photographs of everyday 20th century life, you'll love Square America, a collection of onlin… [read review or visit site]

Wisconsin Historical Images

Wisconsin Historical Images

The Wisconsin Historical Society has really outdone themselves with these excellent galleries focused on the 1880s-… [read review or visit site]

Cliff House Project

Cliff House Project

Gary Stark’s encyclopedic website is dedicated to photos and historical information on San Francisco’s legendar… [read review or visit site]

Time Tales

Time Tales

An amazing compilation of found photographs divided up by era (pre-1930, 1930-1950, 1950-1970, 1970-1990, and 1990-… [read review or visit site]


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Western Electric # 10 Desk Stand, Bell Box, Photograph$1,247 Ends Sunday 10 bids 80 watchers
Bela Lugosi - Dracula - Original Photo Signed - 1931 $999.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 6 watchers
Rare 1861 Abraham Lincoln Photo By Christopher German$510.00 Ends Monday 16 bids 36 watchers
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Carjat Famous Portrait Of Baudelaire Original Photo$455.00 Ends Sunday 15 bids 25 watchers
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Erotic Albert Arthur Allen The Model Photo Seven Nudes $405.00 Ends Sunday 11 bids 119 watchers
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Cdv - Csa General Stonewall Jackson + Csa $500 Banknote$306.76 Ends in 12 hours 6 bids 10 watchers
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Post-mortem Photograph Book, Profusely Illustrated$224.72 Ends Sunday 12 bids 16 watchers
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Tintype Daguerrotype Abraham Lincoln Period Rare!!!$158.05 Ends in 28 mins 2 bids 18 watchers
William H. Taft Signed Photo As President$157.49 Ends Sunday 8 bids 20 watchers
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Recent News: Photographs

Source: Google News

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