Peter, is it a tintype? Neat photo!
Peter, is it a tintype? Neat photo!
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Hi Peter, no, it looks like a paper print, fixed to a cardboard mount. I don't know much about the different types of print made back in those days.Originally Posted by Peter De Smidt
It's lovely to have such photographs.Sadie and Eugene De Smidt, 1929
They're my paternal grand parents
Eugenes' clothes are almost timeless to within the last 150 years.
Sadies' clothes could only have been within a few years of 1928~29.
Martin
Thanks, Martin! These are a bit hard to scan with good results because there's a hexagon texture embossed onto the surface of the print. Maybe for anti-glare reasons?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Certain paper surfaces were designed to have 'beautiful' textures and marketed to wedding and portrait photographers. A side effect not mentioned, but understood by the trade, was that these surfaces were impossible to copy without reflections (as an anti-bootlegging measure). Kodak made several types of paper like this well into the 1970s; "silk" surface comes to mind. I could dig out my 1971 edition of the "Darkroom Dataguide" with examples bound in, if anyone is interested.
Interesting, Mark. They had those in the 1920s?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
And 6-button double-breasted suits are apparently coming back in style. The absence of cuffs on his trousers (at least, I don't think he's wearing cuffs) suggests a fairly formal portrait. No cufflinks so as to highlight the wedding ring? Don't know about the time, but these days the suit and shirt sleeves would be longer.
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Peter, I'm no historian, and of course there were many makers and styles of photo paper from the beginning of 'developing-out' paper c.1900. But if you find portraits done on that kind of paper, with specular highlights, it's possible that those papers were designed to discourage copying (if not marketed as such). Kodak's paper surfaces 'Y' and 'K' were the two I know about.
Another method in later years was to stamp the studio's name in gold on the print's surface.
i'm just contributing to thread drift here; I am enjoying seeing these portraits.
John and Grace Dees
Grace was my grandmother's older sister. So this is probably from the mid-1920s.
Here's the texture close up:
This time I selected the major edges before sharpening. That helped minimize the texture.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
great grandparents maybe in Alexandria in about 1913.. disFarmer before disFarmer
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